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A bit on the nose, but still nice: Sweatheart is a well-written very short story by Abbey Mei Otis that is first sweet and then chilling in the path the story takes – nothing too special either, just a perfectly fine scifi short.

The Will to Battle

by Ada Palmer · published 2017 · last read 2022-10-03

The Will to Battle is currently the last volume of Ada Palmer's brilliant Terra Ignota series. One volume is missing, and it's supposed to come out next year, and I bloody hope so because this one leaves me aching for more. As with th

Too Like the Lightning

by Ada Palmer · published 2016 · last read 2021-12-06

For me, this was a five star books, plain and simple, but I completely understand why it would be a 0-, 1-, 2-star book for others. It's pretentious at times. It wants you to have classical knowledge of ancient Rome and 18th century Fr

Seven Surrenders

by Ada Palmer · published 2017 · read 2018-04-17

The second volume is a bit less on the 18th century France presumptiousness spree (but adds in some more Greek history to make up for it). Very wow, including how Jehovah/JEDD and Bridger meet, Bridger's choice, the Major's identity and so

On the day you spend forever with your dog

by Adam R. Shannon · published 2018 · last read 2022-07-08

It must be because I never had a dog: On the Day You Spend Forever with your Dog is a short story that tries to roll heart-breaking dog love and (emotional) time travel into one, but fell flat for me.

Walking to Aldebaran

by Adrian Tchaikovsky · published 2019 · read 2019-04-08

Walking to Aldebaran was my first book by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and it certainly was a good book. The story itself was a bit on the shallow side, I felt, but the writing, and the protagonist exploring weird alien catacombs, both were well

Children of Time

by Adrian Tchaikovsky · published 2015 · read 2019-11-15

With Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time I've finally come upon a book that most of my friends liked or loved, and that I couldn't get into, for … complex reasons.

Elder Race

by Adrian Tchaikovsky · published 2021 · last read 2023-07-04

Might be the only Tchaikovsky I've read so far that is not entirely bleak in its conception of the human race, so that's a new one. Other than that … what's there to say? It's a solid little book. It's just … kinda lazy? I feel like Tchaiko

Cage of Souls

by Adrian Tchaikovsky · published 2019 · read 2022-10-10

Post-apocalyptic sci-fi or fantasy? Who knows. There is so much to this book: the jungle prison of terror, the weird weird forest outside, the intrigues everywhere, the broken, broken people, the capital, the city under the city, and the re

Made Things

by Adrian Tchaikovsky · published 2019 · read 2024-01-18

Perfectly good adventure; would have loved it as a kid. The care that went into describing and thinking about the puppets – made from wood, metal, paper, and having different professions and skills and life spans – was typical Tchaikowsky.

And Put Away Childish Things

by Adrian Tchaikovsky · published 2023 · read 2024-01-26

Good god why are all takes on Narnia so depressing? I'm the first person to rant about C.S. Lewis, I really am, but come on! I didn't enjoy this trip at all – I'm not going to call it the British alternative to The Magicians, because that

4:50 from Paddington

by Agatha Christie · published 1957 · read 2004-05-01

There's no way I can think of this book without seeing and hearing the movie. The book veered a bit too far into the "here, have some train schedules" direction – I'm not much of a mystery reader, the details bore me and I never try to puzz

Sleeping Murder

by Agatha Christie · published 1976 · read 2005-05-01

This was one of the few Miss Marple mysteries that I remembered for years. It didn't vanish into the blur of "eh, somebody died and Miss Marple solved it". Partially because I found it genuinely creepy, and partially because it's an unusual

The Thirteen Problems

by Agatha Christie · published 1932 · read 2020-06-15

This collection of short Miss Marple stories was enjoyable. While Agatha Christie mostly follows her pattern of "the most vulnerable-looking person is most suspicious", I don't read mysteries for the plot, so I didn't care all that much. Bu

A Murder Is Announced

by Agatha Christie · published 1950 · read 2004-01-01

One of the generic Miss Marple mysteries, but a rather good one. I liked the premise – and there's not much more to like. It's one of those books where the author had one good idea (see title), and then follows through. Christie does that v

The Body in the Library

by Agatha Christie · published 1942 · read 2005-07-01

The setup for this is so generic that even the book (and literally every other mystery author at the time) had to make jokes about it. That's … about all I remember, to be quite honest. Most Miss Marple mysteries are somewhat of a blur to m

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

by Agatha Christie · published 1926 · read 2005-02-01

Truly fun book with low re-read value, because you'll remember the gimmick. Christie does that a lot: she picks one thing, and then she runs with it until the very end. Some books are good because the thing is good (like this one), and so

Murder at the Vicarage

by Agatha Christie · published 1930 · read 2004-07-01

This is where it begins: The tons of Miss Marple book start here, introducing the gentle but sharp old lady who can solve every crime by reducing it to some small village squabble. I generally enjoy the Miss Marple mysteries more than the P

The ABC Murders

by Agatha Christie · published 1936 · read 2020-06-20

Another Poirot mystery. I liked how self-aware Christie is in this book – Poirot routinely mocks (gently, even!) mystery stereotypes in hilarious ways. Hastings as a narrator continues to be stupid in an intentionally pompous, upper-class w

Murder on the Orient Express

by Agatha Christie · published 1934 · read 2005-08-01

The famous Orient Express! As always, Christie has a gimmick and follows it to the end, but this time she adds several good ideas on the side! I particularly liked the Cyrillic writing on the handkerchief that t

Nemesis

by Agatha Christie · published 1971 · read 2005-06-01

Generic Miss Marple mystery – can't really remember anything about it except for the beginning. The beginning was a lot of fun, but it continued as a run-of-the-mill mystery.

Curtain

by Agatha Christie · published 1975 · read 2020-06-18

After reading the first Poirot the other day, I thought I'd continue with the last one. Agatha Christie takes Poirot full circle, with the last novel playing in the same place as the firs

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

by Agatha Christie · published 1920 · read 2020-06-14

I'm not really one for mysteries, and I enjoyed this book more than I expected. This is the first of the Poirot books, and it is already a near-perfect example of its genre. It opens by describing, at length, the initial setting, implying h

Weaving Fate

by Aidan Wachter · published 2020 · read 2021-01-06

Weaving Fate is a woo book. The author believes in magic and assumes you do, too. I found this strangely refreshing, to be honest, and it made it easy to separate out the useful stuff, for my intents and purposes.

Cemetery Boys

by Aiden Thomas · published 2020 · read 2021-06-12

Coming-of-age novel set in an urban fantasy: Yadriel is a Latinx trans boy in the US. His whole family are brujx and don't accept him as a brujo. Naturally, he spends the novel proving himself – but with a fair bit of reflection and friends

Tori Transmigrated

by Aila Aurie · published 2023 · last read 2024-07-23

This is pure, self-indulgent Mary-Sue-to-the-extreme competence porn. It’s decently written for an online fic, but it’s also full-on A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. The logic isn’t always (or often) logicing, it’s really just t

The Uncommon Reader

by Alan Bennett · published 2007 · read 2017-05-16

Oh wow, that was a charming book (or probably a novella?)! It was enjoyable and funny throughout and then packed a marvellous punchline.

The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse

by Alan Bradley · published 2014 · read 2017-11-26

Copper corpses will never not sound like Dorothy Sayers to me.

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d

by Alan Bradley · published 2016 · read 2017-11-28

Woop! I like the slightly-older Flavia, who is more devious, and still terribly clever. Also, evil cliffhanger.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

by Alan Bradley · published 2015 · read 2017-11-26

Even more Series of Unfortunate Events. I'm a sucker for training stories, y'know.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

by Alan Bradley · published 2009 · read 2017-11-23

Well, that was fun. I'm not too much of a fan, the rambling style of Flavia's train of thought is annoying, I think. But at the same time it's definitely well-written and just fun to read. I'm looking forward to the next parts.

A Red Herring Without Mustard

by Alan Bradley · published 2011 · read 2017-11-24

Still a lot of fun and enjoyable, while being nothing too special.

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

by Alan Bradley · published 2014 · read 2017-11-26

Oh-HO, here we go! Suddenly it's much more A Series of Unfortunate Events and less just Kalle Blomkvist!

The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag

by Alan Bradley · published 2010 · read 2017-11-23

Continues to be lighthearted and utterly enjoyable.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

by Alan Bradley · published 2011 · read 2017-11-25

Still funny, still thoroughly enjoyable, but … not really more than three stars for me. (This one's about a visiting cinema troupe and a dead actress.)

Speaking from Among the Bones

by Alan Bradley · published 2013 · read 2017-11-25

The Flavia de Luce books started blurring together before this one, and even series-changing big reveals didn't change that fact. Too much time spent demonstrating sassy storytelling – completely in line with the rest of the series, but inc

The Last Starfighter

by Alan Dean Foster · published 1984 · read 2018-04-29

I'm sure the movie is much better than this, but the book is just a cheap version of Ender's Game.

The Plague

by Albert Camus · published 1947 · read 2010-11-01

The curious mood of The Plague is easy to recall even years after reading it. It's got a curious sense of detachment and numbness that I enjoyed reading, as much as I hate symbolic storytelling normally. I'm still a bit annoyed by the plain

Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley · published 1932 · read 2011-01-01

Fun fact: It took me three tries to finish Brave New World, because the last third (or so) just had me tune out. It's interesting to contrast this work – of Huxley's youth, all convinced of things gravitating towards terribleness – to *Isla

Silk

by Alessandro Baricco · published 1996 · read 2022-08-15

What an odd novelette (novella?). Very lyrical and empathetic, which I usually like – and liked here! "Silk merchant in 19th century France travelling to Japan" should be right down my alley. I liked the descriptions, and most of the plot,

The Metropolitan Man

by Alexander Wales · published 2014 · read 2018-03-06

HPMOR, only for superman. Makes Lex Luthor out as a semi-sensible person.

A Bluer Shade of White

by Alexander Wales · published 2014 · read 2018-06-30

It's rational fiction on Frozen. Cool, but characterisations are very much on the nose and progression is weird. Enjoyable short read though.

The Last Christmas

by Alexander Wales · published 2013 · read 2018-09-21

This story has potential, but rationalists and their aversion to humour ruins it. The Last Christmas is a fun premise, but way too short to build it up properly, and so it ends up all over the place. Still: It's short, and a nice read, so

The Three Musketeers

by Alexandre Dumas · published 1844 · read 2003-04-01

People underestimate how honestly useful Dumas is. Well, if you get the abridged versions, of course, nobody wants to read that optimized-for-line-count nonsense. Read up on it, his tricks to stretch dialogue into more lines are hilarious,

The Last Cavalier: Being the Adventures of Count Sainte-Hermine in the Age of Napoleon

by Alexandre Dumas · published 1870 · read 2005-12-01

Disappointing, but not surprising: I knew that Dumas had written a lot, and even his best works need a lot of compression to be readable. The count of Sainte-Hermine probably would not have been good even with much more work, though. With a

The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexandre Dumas · published 1844 · read 2003-05-01

Revenge – exciting revenge from nearly beyond the grave! I loved this book to pieces when I discovered it, despite being confused by it a lot. I was nine at the time, and many concepts in there confused me. How did cheques work? What on ear

Rite of Passage

by Alexei Panshin · published 1968 · read 2023-03-29

A scifi book from the 60s, with a young black girl as protagonist, written by a white dude from the US, that isn’t terrible? And also isn’t praised and listed on all the reading lists everywhere? Reading this book was a big surprise, I have

The Stars My Destination

by Alfred Bester · published 1955 · read 2019-05-05

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester is a scifi classic, and most of those don't work for me. This one was better than average, but I still felt like I was in a weird dream. I have a low tolerance for people behaving horribly and/or

The Drama of the Gifted Child

by Alice Miller, Ruth Ward · published 1979 · read 2020-10-25

★☆☆☆☆ (did not finish)

Some self-help books are for a very specific audience. The Drama of the Gifted Child is one of those, and I am not its audience. I buy the claim that children do a lot of things to fulfil expectations rather than out of their own desire,

Children of Thorns, Children of Water

by Aliette de Bodard · published 2017 · read 2018-09-20

I wasn't aware how tightly this story was coupled with the surrounding universe: Children of Thorns, Children of Water sadly doesn't make much sense if you aren't familiar with Aliette de Bodard's Dominion of the Fallen series, and co

The Tea Master and the Detective

by Aliette de Bodard · published 2018 · read 2019-07-07

The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard is a nie short scifi novella in a world where different sorts of teas can have a profound impact on how the human brain works, there is deep space that behaves entirely different from

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

by Alix E. Harrow · published 2019 · read 2021-05-13

Coming-of-age stories are possibly just not for me anymore. The book-driven portal fantasy is nice enough, and the helping of "remember how bad turn-of-the-century racism is" is not bad if a bit forced, but … I just didn't care about the pr

Mr. Death

by Alix E. Harrow · published 2021 · read 2022-08-12

Extremely strong story of the protagonist serving as a Reaper in the Department of Deat. Take the CWs seriously, I cried (in a good way (but still)).

Fox’s Tongue and Kirin’s Bone

by Allison M. Kovacs · published 2021 · last read 2023-09-07

Not sure why I keep reading this tbh. It's got a huge world, but refuses to do the required worldbuilding. Lost interest in the initial hook, muddling through, and also by now removed all the initial chapters, lol. Honestly just still readi

This Is How You Lose the Time War

by Amal El-Mohtar · published 2019 · read 2019-09-21

This Is How You Lose the Time War was written by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. They must be magic. They can't just write like this without magic. Trust me.

Das Jesus Video

by Andreas Eschbach · published 1998 · read 2021-08-15

Trashy Dan-Brown-wannabe. Came recommended by a thread on good German fiction, never again.

The Last Wish

by Andrzej Sapkowski · published 1993 · read 2021-11-04

Finally catching up with some European fantasy – I haven't watched the show, but I've played some of the games, and I'm generally aware of what's going on in-universe. I knew the book was fairly episodic going into it, which might have been

Project Hail Mary

by Andy Weir · published 2021 · read 2021-09-05

Andy Weir has a thing he does well, and this is just another instance of this thing. If this had been my first Andy Weir book, I probably would have given it a higher rating, but after The Martian, it felt like a re-run.

The Egg

by Andy Weir · published 2009 · read 2019-01-26

Super-short, not exactly original, but well-done and strangely foundational: The Egg is a wonderful little, tiny, short story. I first read it some years back, but it always stayed with me, just in the back of my head. Now I came across it

The Martian

by Andy Weir · published 2012 · read 2015-08-06

Gods, I already knew they had chosen Matt Damon as lead role, and I can imagine him in that role so very well! Brilliant humor with hard scifi. I seriously hope they won't fuck up the movie.

Ancillary Justice

by Ann Leckie · published 2013 · read 2018-03-13

by Ann Leckie · published 2014 · read 2018-04-14

Wow wow wow.

Ancillary Sword

Ancillary Sword was an exceedingly worthy successor to Ancillary Justice. We get a deeper look into the culture of the Radch and (most importantly) the characters we got to know in the first book. Understanding how all of them felt, especia

Provenance

by Ann Leckie · published 2017 · read 2018-10-05

Provenance by Ann Leckie is set in the Ancillary universe, but doesn't have much to do with the Radch or any of the known characters. Instead, it's a pleasant little space-opera adventure. I enjoyed it a lot, even if it didn't have the sa

Ancillary Mercy

by Ann Leckie · published 2015 · read 2018-07-13

Wow! A worthy ending to the Imperial Radch trilogy ba Ann Leckie. The actions and decisions of the previous volumes find their somewhat logical conclusion in a complicated struggle for independence in an empire that has forgotten what i

The Raven Tower

by Ann Leckie · published 2019 · read 2019-03-22

I'm not quite sure where I stand on The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie. On the plus side: a fantasy story told from the perspective of a god (and with a fascinating definition of 'god', to boot), in a consistent voice (good thing I was use

Night’s Slow Poison

by Ann Leckie · published 2012 · read 2018-08-23

I like Ann Leckie a lot, but Night's Slow Poison didn't work for me – the story was either too short or too aimless for me to appreciate.

The Diary of a Young Girl

by Anne Frank · published 1947 · read 2003-04-01

Anne's diary was mandatory reading in school. Our edition included photos of Anne and her family. Contrasting Anne's story with the fact that there are six million of these stories – an unthinkable number to me, even now – made me despair o

Dragonflight

by Anne McCaffrey · published 1968 · read 2022-03-13

Okay look. Dragonriders? A whole social group structured around dragons?!! A whole society slowly losing their belief in the ancient threat that made them support and accept the dragon riders? It sounds so, so good. But. The book, fir

Désirée

by Annemarie Selinko · published 1951 · read 2008-08-01

Désirée got me started on serious historical fiction – this, or Klaus Kordon, but it's a close race. Désirée is the true tale of Désirée Clary, told in the form of her fictional diary.

Blood Song

by Anthony Ryan · published 2011 · read 2018-10-12

Blood Song is the start of the Raven's Shadow series by Anthony Ryan. It was hard to make up my mind about this book – it changed a lot over the course of the story.

Tower Lord

by Anthony Ryan · published 2014 · read 2019-01-21

I thoroughly enjoyed Tower Lord (second volume of Anthony Ryan's Raven's Shadow series). It's good fantasy, with a careful mix of known elements (the weary hero who is always right, the young fighting gutter princess, the clever queen

Flight to Arras

by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry · published 1942 · read 2021-03-10

Published in 1942, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry talks about his life, experience, thoughts and feelings about being a pilot in WWII, while on the defensive and with little hope of surviving. The novella follows one flight, and comments on both

The Little Prince

by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry · published 1943 · read 2002-04-01

The adorable faux-philosophical book with delightfully whimsical moments was something I enjoyed a lot as a kid. I would imagine that much of its charm is due to my age when reading it though, and if I had read it for the first time now, I

Descartes’ Error

by António R. Damásio · published 1994 · read 2020-04-18

Didn't hold much new information for me, because its contents have grown so accepted and foundational in the 25 years since publication. Nevertheless it provides a solid fundamental overview in a very readable way, despite also dealing in a

A Desolation Called Peace

by Arkady Martine · published 2021 · read 2021-04-11

Generally, A Desolation Called Peace is nearly as good as A Memory Called Empire. It replaces parts of the intrical cultural commentary with very alien aliens who need to be communicated with, but

A Memory Called Empire

by Arkady Martine · published 2019 · last read 2021-03-26

A junior ambassador from one alien nation and planet to another, which boasts of a highly complex language and culture? Finding herself scrambling to catch up with her predecessor (rudely murdered, instead of being in her brain as would be

Roadside Picnic

by Arkady Strugatsky · published 1972 · last read 2023-04-20

Roadside picnic was a good book to read, and I was surprised that I didn't find it depressing. It takes place in a small town in roughly-Canada, where an alien exclusion zone has spawned that is very much like a radioactive dump: People a

The Best Revenge

by Arsinoe de Blassenville · published 2010 · read 2024-10-06

Infinite fluff. It's just … mountains of fluff. Not even a good take on competent adults or anything, just "what if everything just worked out forever".

Time of the Basilisk

by Arsinoe de Blassenville · published 2010 · read 2024-10-07

The fluff continues escalating, and the author has decided that they are, uh, whimsical and funny. They are not.

The Nine Billion Names of God

by Arthur C. Clarke · published 1967 · read 2019-02-19

I appreciated the woo, but. The Nine Billion Names of God is a short story typical of the Arthur C. Clarke times of scifi. Doesn't hurt to read, but by now it's predictable, and the premise was new then, but is ehhh today.

The Star

by Arthur C. Clarke · published 1955 · last read 2022-03-05

A solid scifi short story. I probably shouldn't be surprised at Clarke's knowledge of the Jesuits. At only four pages, it felt well-written (but not quite as moving as it wants to be). This book is part of the [2022 Backlog Incident](/p

Trouble with Time

by Arthur C. Clarke · published 1960 · read 2019-10-13

Trouble with Time is a nice enough short story by Arthur C. Clarke. My impression is good idea, okay-ish execution, nothing special.

The Songs of Distant Earth

by Arthur C. Clarke · published 1986 · read 2020-01-24

A future human settlement gets visited by the last travellers from the doomed planet earth, on their way to their final destination, a new earth. Very calm, slow, slightly utopian.

Sherlock Holmes

by Arthur Conan Doyle · published 1914 · read 2003-09-01

Reading Sherlock Holmes was a milestone in growing up. I remember starting the first story when I was barely eight. It started “To Sherlock Holmes, she is always THE woman.” I stopped reading and ran to my mother to complain that she hadn't

A Year Like None Other

by Aspen in the Sunlight · published 2006 · last read 2022-06-06

Decent Severitus, I suppose – okay writing, absurd amounts of processing, and follows the hurt/comfort rules to a t.

A Summer Like None Other

by Aspen in the Sunlight · published 2013 · read 2020-02-28

Doubles down on the weaknesses of the first part: excessive processing, repetitive and predictable. Okay writing, occasionally humorous dialogue, bug still little action spread out by virtue of extreme blathering.

A Family Like None Other

by Aspen in the Sunlight · published 2023 · read 2020-02-29

Look, this is still farly decent in writing (though it continues the big fault of spending 90% of time on telling, not showing, and processing). But the "problems" posed are so contrived, so frustrating, that I really fail to see the point.

The Brothers Lionheart

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1973 · read 2001-11-01

There's nothing I don't love about this book. It drew me in and swallowed me whole, back in the day. I re-read it so much that I can still tell you which page I used to skip because it was too scary for me. The illustrations are gorgeous, t

Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1981 · read 2001-12-01

Ronja has had more of an influence on me at the time than most other books. Its effect is lesser now, but that's because it was honestly perfect for me at the time. The strong Ronja, with her wildness and her tenderness and her strength, di

Emil in the Soup Tureen

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1963 · read 2001-04-01

Adorable book for kids. Emil is wonderful, as is everybody else. As usual, Astrid Lindgren doesn't flinch away from real life, so Emil is for instance regularly locked away because his parents don't know how to deal with him.

Immer dieser Michel

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1963 · read 2001-12-01

Michel is delightful and sweet and a prankster and a rascal. He's never malicious, but always in the thick of it. I liked him a lot, and have always been impressed how much Lindgren can make me feel like I too live on a farm in the middle o

Pippi Langstrumpf

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1945 · read 2001-11-01

Joyful is what this book is. Thoroughly joyful, and I'd love to blame it for my anarchist tendencies (but that would probably be unfair).

Märchen

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1989 · read 2007-05-01

Lindgren is best known for her books for children: They are beautiful, sometimes hauntingly so. They are deep and won't seem cheap after you grow up. They are always grounded in reality, and everybody talks and acts like a real person.

Tomte Tummetott

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1960 · read 2004-01-01

Pure wholesomeness: Tomte Tumtetott is a spirit(-ish) who lives on the farm, and only comes out at night. He talks to the animals (who understand him) and to the sleeping plants and people. He is kind to everybody and has a good word in eve

Madita

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1960 · last read 2021-01-12

Madita is a somewhat less intense Pippi: she has a younger sister and is up to all sorts of ridiculous nonsense, but doesn't go to society-breaking extremes. Well, usually.

Mio, My Son

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1954 · read 2001-02-01

Mio, my Mio. A book for children, with heart-breaking beauty. The beauty is in how it uses fairytale and lyrical resonance to spin a story that is both familiar and strange. It meant a lot to me: The unhappy boy who runs away from home, onl

Lotta on Troublemaker Street

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1958 · read 2003-06-01

Lotta and her siblings are some of Lindgren's most adorable characters. Her teddy (which looks suspiciously like a pig, but don't tell her!), her siblings, their games, their whole family – it's all lovely without being overly sweet. Lotta

Pippi in the South Seas

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1948 · read 1999-07-01