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The Wild Girls by Ursula K. Le Guin contains a short story/novelly named like the book, two essays, a couple of poems, and an interview with the author. I liked the short story well enough, but it was like the remainder of the book: agreeable but inconsequential. The essays held opinions I liked, without anything actionable, and the interview showed a person I liked, but nothing more than that.

A Fisherman of the Inland Sea

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1994 · read 2018-11-30

I'm not a huge fan of short story collections – they're hard to rate, I don't like reading stories bunched together all that much, it's just not for me. So giving A Fisherman of the Inland Sea 4/5 stars means a lot – Ursula Le Guin always manages to show deeply familiar human sides to technological developments. Here I was impressed with her ability to show groups (families and other groups) interact and evolve. The deep understanding of individuals growing older, away from home or at home, was touching too, and terribly well executed. Oh, the humanity, you know?

Four Ways to Forgiveness

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1994 · read 2018-10-02

Four Ways to Forgiveness is part of Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle, and gives us a bit of a backstory on the Hainish themselves, how the Ekumen was founded, and how worlds may come to join the Ekumen. The story is told in four parts, a character apiece. The characters do interact, but they form their own narratives. From the perspective of a slave, a military slave owner, an envoy, and a historian, we gain a perspective on the world of Werel, and the rebellion of the slaves against their owners.

The Tombs of Atuan

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1970 · read 2018-02-12

Oh wow. This touched me, and the ending was perfect. It didn't follow all the fantasy rules, it followed Earthsea rules. ❤

The Eye of the Heron

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1978 · read 2024-02-06

Setting: On a planet with a human population at one just one point, exiles from earth who arrived in two waves: First a group of criminals from South America (many thousands, though their origin isn't commonly known among them), then decades later a global group of pacifists (only two thousand, a smaller group). Everything is different, of course: different animals, and the landscape is dominated by trees growing in rings. The animals are also super cool and changing and only very vaguely resemble the Terran animals they are named after. (Apart from the adorable and adorably-named wotsit). The conflict between the city and the village Shantih is stark and a great setup – especially the narrative slowly revealing that the village may see itself as an equal partner, but the city certainly sees them as little more than slaves. I'm not sure what I think about the framing of the refusal of communication as moral violence – general the pacifists are on the extreme end of collaboration, cooperation and communication, and I'm not sure what their final failure can say under those premises. The writing, of course, is lush and insightful and makes you want to just sink into the book and enjoy it forever. Loving details everywhere, paired with a mastery of both writing and human nature – pure le Guin. It's weird how there's a fair bit of gender … opinions, let's call them opinions, in there, and even though they're pretty sweeping statements about how men and women are, I don't even want to argue, I can enjoy them for the insight they offer even while they're not universally true. Le Guin in magical like that. Rating note: Undecided between three stars and four stars – I was kinda afraid she'd show the idealists just magically win, so I was glad that wasn't how things played out. But the ending is also bitter-sweet and left me … mostly with vibes and some questions. Which, I suppose, is a good thing, so I decided to round up.

Die Verschworenen

by Ursula Poznanski · published 2013 · read 2017-01-09

Rias Gruppe wird dezimiert (sogar eher im ursprünglichen Sinn), und nach einigen Nachforschungen in Jordans Chroniken verlassen drei der vier Überlebenden die Wildnis, um mehr in Erfahrung zu bringen. Bringt leider nicht so viel an Fakten, aber bringt Ria auf die richtigen Gedanken und sie beendet das Buch, wo sie es begann.

Die Verratenen

by Ursula Poznanski · published 2012 · read 2017-01-09

by Ursula Poznanski · published 2014 · read 2017-01-11

Mehr, bitte!

Die Vernichteten

Good conclusion to an excellent series.

Elanus

by Ursula Poznanski · published 2016 · read 2019-04-04

Elanus by Ursula Poznanski is an alright YA thriller/mystery. (Keep in mind that I'm not the intended audience anymore, though). She writes a very good unreliable/unsympathetic protagonist – a way too smart 17-year old boy, who by way of his self-built illicit drone stumbles into a dangerous secret at his new school. Very solid writing. It's very clear from the start that the protagonist is an asshole, but with YA you'd want to make this clear to encourage engagement with the book (and to prevent any kids from finding him too much of a role model). Well-researched in terms of technical capacity, well-written, and while the twist is a bit predictable, the book is still solid.

Erebos

by Ursula Poznanski · published 2010 · read 2018-03-12

Woah. Unendlich viel besser als Ready Player One oder Epic. Richtig richtig gute und gruselige Fassung eines KI-gesteuerten RPGs, das Auswirkungen auf die echte Welt hat. Hnnng.

Fünf

by Ursula Poznanski · published 2012 · read 2016-05-14

Hm, it might just be that I'm not a fan of thrillers, but I don't particularly love this one. There is nothing wrong with it. The characters are very relatable, the story is sound, the details are well-researched, the language and pacing are very well done,... I don't dislike it, but I don't love it either.

The Sea Witch Sets the Record Straight

by Ursula Vernon · published 2013 · read 2022-12-27

Very neat short story that Ursula Vernon dropped on her Livejournal of all places. Ariel from the sea witch's perspective. Liked it a lot. Read it now! (Archived version, just to be safe). This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

Vicious

by V.E. Schwab · published 2013 · read 2021-06-20

★☆☆☆☆ (did not finish)

Villain protagonists are cool in theory, but hard to do well, and I didn't feel like Schwab got it right. It's not that there is no motivation or background, it's more that the protagonist is an asshole and I don't enjoy spending time with assholes.

A Darker Shade of Magic

by V.E. Schwab · published 2015 · read 2020-07-18

A Darker Shade of Magic should be a book I like a whole lot: Decent writing, imperfect characters, parallel worlds – particularly parallel Londons – connected by magic, this book has it all.

Forge Your Future with Open Source

by VM (Vicky) Brasseur · published 2018 · read 2019-09-20

Forge Your Future with Open Source by VM Brasseur was a book I started with incorrect expectations: I thought I was the target group, and it would explain different things from its actual content. Bummer.

Vierbeinige Freunde

by Vera Tschaplina · published 1950 · last read 2023-01-10

Childhood favourite, especially after I found out that this wasn't a magical fairytale about living with a lion in the middle of Moscow, but that it was reality! Lots of small bits that I loved, especially how Chaplina talked about her work in the zoo.

Rainbows End

by Vernor Vinge · published 2006 · read 2018-03-23

Well, this was great scifi. It was focussed on a not very likeable, but very real character, and a completely informationally connected world. I enjoyed that it focussed so much on where and how information flowed, and the implications of VR. Lots of fun!

A Fire Upon the Deep

by Vernor Vinge · published 1992 · read 2019-03-03

A Fire Upon the Deep was very impressive scifi! The scope ranges across the complete universe, complete with medieval worlds, advanced civilisations, up to god-like transcended entities, their interactions, and wildly alien races. And at the same time, the story gets up close to humans and aliens alike, and lets the reader live epic events at a comprehendable scale.

Divergent

by Veronica Roth · published 2011 · read 2016-10-11

★☆☆☆☆

Horrid generic post-Hunger-Games YA with no redeeming features.

Evitative

by Vichan · published 2020 · last read 2024-02-11

Spent my February reading all the good fics. This one starts as a standard re-sort, then goes sideways into a beautiful take on dark magic, rituals, friendship and love. Like, some of these rituals I just want to adopt for myself. Let's just not talk about the appalling Latin, though. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

Gavroche

by Victor Hugo · published 1957 · read 2020-04-12

Heavily edited short excerpt from Les Mis. The most enjoyable part was the short Hugo bio after the main part, which was extremely biased – the edition is from Eastern Germany after all.

The Connoisseur

by Victoria Goddard · published 2020 · read 2024-01-17

Cute, until you start thinking about it – and not written well enough to compensate for that. But not bad, not bad.

Knightley Academy

by Violet Haberdasher · published 2010 · read 2020-06-04

Knightly Academy is, in a sentence, a conservative Harry Potter knockoff without magic.

Lolita

by Vladimir Nabokov · published 1955 · read 2010-09-01

Lolita was an interesting book to read when I was 18: I was used to reading classics with a critical distance, and Lolita never fit either my analytic access nor my "god this is really good" access. It's a tough read, but it's always skillful, never cheap (though often blatant). I think I'm better for having read it, but I can't say why.

Pale Fire

by Vladimir Nabokov · published 1962 · read 2019-12-02

Pale Fire was my second book by Vladimir Nabokov, and it curiously resembled the first one (Lolita, naturally): An unreliable narrator, who felt incredibly off-putting, full of himself, and mentally ill. I do want to note that the narrator is gay and there is no obvious stigmatisation associated with the fact.

Die Revolution Von 1918/19

by Volker Ullrich · published 2009 · read 2017-11-16

So viel au :( aber ein guter Überblick.

Micromegas

by Voltaire · published 1752 · read 2018-07-09

Throughly enjoyable and witty. It's mostly Ada Palmer's fault I read this, but this is definitely the earliest space-faring fiction I know about.

The Inner Game of Tennis

by W. Timothy Gallwey · published 1974 · read 2020-03-31

I hadn't expected a Zen book, but here we are. This book is short and to the point, and presents a couple of very good takes on not-just-tennis. It applies at the very least to every physical activity and anything that works like a competition. The insights on physical activity have been immediately helpful for me in everyday life, and the thoughts on competition will do the same once I've had time to think about them. Highly recommended.

Quillifer

by Walter Jon Williams · published 2017 · read 2022-11-02

No idea how to rate this. On the one hand: didn't care for the plot or for the protagonist (a fop, thrown into adventure, somehow always escaping and then showing some sort of magic genius to get himself out of tight spots, starting from the destruction of his home town, and up to a full on naval war and having to deal with complicated court intrigue). On the other hand, well done and there is definitely depth to the worldbuilding. I'm told the second part is clever and might be worth it, but I'm not sure I can tolerate the protagonist soon again. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

A Canticle for Leibowitz

by Walter M. Miller Jr. · published 1959 · read 2022-03-28

Damn, rating this book is hard! The first part had me thinking that it was just standard (though not standart then, of course!) far-future post-fallout sci-fi where humanity lives in its own ruins. And then the second part was alright, eh. And then the last part was suddenly really fucking intense and painful in a good way. So there's that. Look, I have a tag called "Space Monks", of course I'm a fan. It goes without saying. What doesn't go without saying? The description of quasi-medieval monks holding on to knowledge and literacy in a post-fallout world (picturing the Fallout as a monster lurking in shadows of history) is drawn so well I took it for granted at first. This book is sci-fi that understands religion and treats it with both respect and humour, and I can count the books that manage both without losing integrity on one hand. There is actual Latin in there (I'm an asshole about bad Latin). There's an O Antiphon for the fallout. And that's just backdrop, of just the first part! Along with clever observations about ("pre-Deluge") English, and Dominicans fighting New Rome on questions of not even theological significance, and orders trying to wrangle a beatification or even canonisation for their own. (And the Wandering Jew, tantalising, in between all this.) I didn't remember much of the second part, with its politics and its people rediscovering electricity. It was alright, but didn't amuse me (like the first part) or punch me in the face (like the last one). The last part was great. Painful, and great. The believable modernity, with the eye for detail shown in the other two parts. The consequences. The humans with actual human feelings. I got full on shivers and a Pale Blue Dot kind of feeling from the things that happened there. … And then I wished the book had ended a bit earlier, on account of the Big Yikes. When I first read Josef Pieper's theological work, I loved it. Later on I read his autobiography, which tainted his entire work with a shadow, and I haven't been able to enjoy it fully since. The same thing happened here: When towards the end of the third part the topic of assisted dying comes up, Miller reveals parts of his soul that I cannot quite forgive, and that made me re-think the book in its entirety. (This weighs even more heavily on my mind thinking of Miller's life, and death.) (You'll notice it's still a five star read, but now it's a grudging, uncertain rating rather than a fiery, convinced one.) This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

Wilde Reise durch die Nacht

by Walter Moers · published 2001 · last read 2021-01-13

Walter Moers decided to branch out and do something wildly different. Okay, maybe not wildly: there's still much absurdity going on. But it's not Zamonien. Instead, it's the story of Gustave Doré, the famous painter. Or rather, his paintings. Or rather, all of his paintings, shoved together into a rather trippy (but entertaining!) story. It's not exactly great art, but it's a great art exercise. And it might be the best German writing I've read in a long time – Moers really is a brilliant author. Some of the puns are so deeply embedded that you can't even hope to translate them. It may be the only Moers book without Moers illustrations, which is sad. But if you can't have Moers, Doré will do.

Die 13½ Leben des Käpt’n Blaubär

by Walter Moers · published 1999 · read 2006-05-01

This is where Moers proved he was a wizard. It's not his best book, but it's absolutely outstanding nevertheless. The tour through the 13½ lives of Cpt Bluebear is amazing, astounding, sparkling with fantastic ideas as if it had been written by 13 creative geniuses instead of just one. It's a good book is what I'm saying.

Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher

by Walter Moers · published 2004 · read 2007-11-01

The year I got this book, I must have read it five times in a row. It's one of those books that appeal deliberately to any reader's affinity to books – but where stories about magical librarians or book-hopping narrators are cautious about it, Moers goes all in. This is not an appeal, it's unrepentant, happy, blatant pandering. God, I loved reading this book. The protagonist comes from a dinosaur/lizard race of authors, and goes away from home after finishing his training to find his own way. Careful readers of Moers will, of course, know already that he will go on to become one of the most famous (and pompous) authors of Zamonia. He goes to the city of books, where everything is about literature, and eventually descends into the catacombs under the city, where only the dangerous book hunters dare tread (and those often not for long). There he finds wonders beyond his wildest dreams and nightmares. It's the little things: The book-shaped pastries, how all author names are anagrams of real author names (mad respect to the translator btw), how Moers shows off that he has a thesaurus without being obnoxious …

Der Schrecksenmeister

by Walter Moers · published 2007 · read 2008-07-01

I wasn't the biggest fan of this book, possibly because I thought that I had to read the book it was satirising first. I didn't have to do that, and it wasn't a lot of fun. I was impressed with the food porn though – when Moers sets his mind to really describing something, you're going to notice.

Zamonien. Entdeckungsreise durch einen phantastischen Kontinent. Von A wie Anagrom Ataf bis Z wie Zamomin

by Walter Moers · published 2012 · read 2020-12-27

Even though I love the Zamonien books as much as anybody, this … was not it. This book is an encyclopaedia for the fictional continent Zamonien, as a tie-in for all the other books by Walter Moers. And I understand everybody who loved it, in a nostalgic way, thinking back to when they first read the Zamonion books. But damn, this is so limited, like a big missed chance.

Rumo

by Walter Moers · published 2003 · read 2009-07-01

Rumo was a lot of fun. Not as grand as Bluebear, not as nerdy as the book city, but a very good take on adventure books noneteless. Hitting all the tropes without being unintentionally cheesy. Probably the closest you can come to The Princess Bride with non-human protagonists.

Das Labyrinth der Träumenden Bücher

by Walter Moers · published 2011 · read 2011-10-01

Well, this was an exercise in disappointment. The follow-up book to the City of Dreaming Books is strictly worse than its predecessor. It reads as if Moers needed money and so decided to make a bad B-movie following his great blockbuster. Nearly put me off reading future Moers books entirely.

Ensel und Krete. Ein Märchen aus Zamonien

by Walter Moers · published 2000 · read 2003-02-01

Bluebear was a great book. This is an okay book – more experimental in ways, and definitely less astounding. Where Bluebear means that you get an even balance of action and snark, and the City of Dreaming Book works even when you don't get literary snark, this book is just literary snark. I enjoyed it, but it's hard to recommend to anybody.

A Brother’s Price

by Wen Spencer · published 2005 · read 2020-04-30

This is comfort food, but it's GOOD comfort food. Fantasy world with inverted gender roles (only one man per 20 women, group family marriages ensue). It follows the Regency romance arc perfectly except for leaving out that relationship building part in the second third, which actually might've been better to include. But it's really enjoyable – takes the gender role reversal seriously, isn't stupid about it, but also clearly just has a lot of fun telling the story.

The Arithmancer

by White Squirrel · published 2015 · read 2021-01-03

Honestly decent Harry Potter fanfic: Hermione starts out a math genius and things escalate. Good writing, a bunch of very thoughtful world-building. Close to canon without being stupid or pretentious. Delightfully nerdy, good research. Overdoing the canon in places, I think, and also the meta fandom commentary (but not often and not obnoxiously).

Annals of Arithmancy

by White Squirrel · published 2019 · read 2021-01-05

Last part of the trilogy. Not bad per se, but far from good. A collection of "look where I could take this" stories, loosely connected. No urgency or impact, really. Better than the original epilogue, but what isn't.

Lady Archimedes

by White Squirrel · published 2018 · read 2021-01-04

Second part of a Harry Potter fanfic. Better plot elements, maybe, but worse writing – started being a drag at some point. Still good execution on the theme of "what if science nerd, but Hermione" – several leagues more plausible and readable than HPMOR. I still like how it quotes extensively from pop and less-pop culture, and how it integrates then-current events.

Max und Moritz. Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen

by Wilhelm Busch · published 1865 · read 2000-01-01

Max and Moritz is an extremely quotable gruesome story of two boys and their pranks. It's written in rhymed couplets, many of which have turned into common sayings because they are witty, sarcastic, or just brutal. They are in many ways an integral part of German culture, I suppose, but more importantly they were an inescapable part of my family's culture. Being able to quote Max & Moritz was a survival skill.

Bridesicle

by Will McIntosh · published 2009 · read 2019-04-22

Good title. Sadly, Bridesicle by Will McIntosh is not as good as its title – cryo facilities where people can be revived by prospective partners. He tries to capture the horror of it all, but it fell flat for me.

Soulsmith

by Will Wight · published 2016 · read 2020-08-08

After resenting the cliffhanger ending in Unsouled, I'm more reconciled with this one. Once you expect the cliffhangers, after all, they can't hurt you. This second part of the Cradle series shows off why people praise it as progression fiction: There's exponential progression all over the place.

Unsouled

by Will Wight · published 2016 · read 2020-04-30

This was nice. Chinese inspired fantasy, but with a high escalation path into stellar politics among superpowered/ascended beings. The juxtaposition of the two ("low level farm boy" vs "god-like beings") was clumsy at times, and it cuts off early, but it was still relaxing to read.

Neuromancer

by William Gibson · published 1984 · read 2017-03-10

Not quite sure what to think of this one. It's fast paced, but I think it tries too hard. I liked how it plays with multiple realities, or layers of reality, but both the plot and the pacing felt so … forced.

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding · published 1954 · read 2017-05-15

Well, that might have been predictable if I had read it in more than a few hours, but it did its job in being terrifying and depressing.

The Princess Bride

by William Goldman · published 1973 · read 2018-02-28

Well, this was just plain funny. Great storytelling, great pacing, great everything. I caught myself looking up if William Goldman really had a son. He hasn't, thank god.

The Wind Singer

by William Nicholson · published 2000 · read 2019-09-29

The Wind Singer by William Nicholson is somewhere between Fantasy for kids and YA. As I'm not the target audience, my opinion can't serve as a good recommendation.

On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi!

by William Tenn · published 1974 · read 2021-02-20

You know how I'm into space monks, aka scifi that has serious thoughts about religion? Yes, this is it. Hilariously tongue-in-cheek, there's nothing I did not like about this short story. It's written in 1974, and thankfully available online, both in text and as an even more hilarious reading by the author. The tone is everything. Space jews arguing about the inclusion of alien species. Let me just say “Papa, you’re so old-fashioned! You yourself told me that the blue Jews from Aldebaran show how adaptable our people are.” – if this doesn't sell you on the story, pass it by.

Draußen vor der Tür

by Wolfgang Borchert · published 1947 · read 2007-06-01

Borchert's most famous piece – because he died the year it was published, aged 26, of a fever contracted during WW2. We lost a good one that day. This play has the subtitle "A play that no theatre wants to play and that no audience wants to see". It's about a WW2 soldier who comes home after spending three years as a war prisoner. He finds a changed world that doesn't need him, doesn't want him, and certainly won't take any responsibility for him.

Ninefox Gambit

by Yoon Ha Lee · published 2016 · last read 2024-01-04

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee was a lot of fun, but at the same time frustrating. It's high fantasy in space, and comes with all the usually frustrating parts of high fantasy (minus the racism). The writing, pacing, and characters are very well done, but the worldbuilding … it's frustrating how much potential it has. With some work, this could have been a book opening up a great universe, but it felt like the author cut short all the worldbuilding work they should have done on their end, and instead substituted "what I say goes" rules for an inner logic in that world, making decisions and outcomes feel random. I like being dropped in a weird and unfamiliar world, having to figure things out on my own – and the vibe of the evil Hexarchate empire running on blood sacrifices and calendar math to power a space fleet was impeccable. But I get grumpy if it turns out that there's nothing to figure out, because the author makes up the rules as the action goes along. There are a lot of details to appreciate, like the augments (not only visual, also heat pulses etc), or the servitors (bots) having achieved sentience. But also, there was just so much stuffed in there that never was used much – the group consciousnesses that can be formed, for example. We never see what it's like to be part of one. Or more about the bots! They are touched upon, and we even see some of their values and preferences, but it's so shallow! The concept of Formation Instinct and fledge-null could also be expanded on, though that features heavily in the next book, at least. The insignia and how they both do and do not say something about personalities (or the colours of their totally-not-light-saber Calendrical Swords, for that matter). In general, the book is so overloaded that no aspect gets to breathe properly, and you're meant to be completely overwhelmed – but if you're not, you're stuck looking in askance at everything. Why did Jedao have to be a mass-murderer? Why make Cheris this stereotypical genius-underdog? Why the six/seven factions, local heresies, languages, faction-based takes on gender and morals, …? It's all very pretty but in fulfilling its need to be A LOT, it forgets to be meaningful. Reddit: "Like offensive Feng Shui but with space ships instead of home decor." – yes.

Raven Stratagem

by Yoon Ha Lee · published 2017 · read 2024-01-05

Kinda like the first book in the series – a lot of very cool worldbuilding, but … kinda too much coolness and not enough substance. If you look behind the window dressing, it's kinda just Omelas, yet again. Don't get me wrong: It's pretty. The writing is alright, the people are at least somewhat compelling, and I enjoy puzzling out the overly in-depth worldbuilding. But it also feels so very hollow (and why on earth is there a third part?).

Planet for Rent

by Yoss · published 2015 · read 2022-04-22

Aliens are advanced, humanity is a backwater, deeply indebted to the aliens, and also trying to suck up where possible for survival. Lots of poverty, econ horror, emigration into circumstances that are both worse and somehow yet better. Like with many other non-first-world sci-fi, I enjoyed the change in perspective tremendously (among the mass of US sci-fi, it's easy to forget just how US-ian things like The Expanse are). That said, the episodic nature and some details put me off, and it didn't stick at all. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

The Lost Books of The Odyssey

by Zachary Mason · published 2007 · read 2021-10-17

The Lost Books of the Odyssey are, in truth, the Lost Short Stories of the Odyssey, and an impressive 44, at that. Each short story presents a different version of some part of the Iliad or the Odyssey, most-but-not-all focused on Odysseus. As always with story collections, I liked some more than others, but a surprising amount of them worked very well for me.

Sorcerer to the Crown

by Zen Cho · published 2015 · read 2020-05-03

Really didn't like this one, partly because I'm not in the target group (not female, not PoC), partly because I thought the worldbuilding was shoddy. Pre-victorian British wizards have been done better, and I thought the Montague siblings series did a better job of portraying racism in Great Britain at the time.

before the door of hell lamps burned

by basketofnovas · published 2020 · read 2023-02-09

The brilliantly difficult series is a top contender for my favourite fanfic series. It's ambitious, and it sometimes fails, but especially if you read the one-shots, the author ties it together so well. Possibly the only AO3 author I will read no matter what. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

the glass fortress

by basketofnovas · published 2021 · read 2023-02-10

I could read basketofnovas for a week straight without getting sick of the stories tbh, even though I found the second part getting a bit stuck on occasion, especially in fleshing out the political system. It all comes together once you've read all the one-shots and extended universe, but the first experience was not perfect. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

the grave of the saint

by basketofnovas · published 2022 · read 2023-02-11

Difficult to tie off a series like this (and I'm perpetually grateful for the one-shots and shorts illuminating the time after the main plot's end). There is too much going on, but I found all the moving parts interesting in the end, and was not disappointed at all. Such a good series/universe. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

swallow some of their history

by basketofnovas · published 2024 · read 2024-11-03

basketofnovas is writing amazing stuff again. It’s still in her very cool spin on the Potter universe, only this time it opens up an alternate universe, where Hermione is thrown back in time (and into an alternate universe) and ends up sharing a dorm with Bellatrix Black. It’s, as always, way cool and well-written.

All About Love: New Visions

by bell hooks · published 1999 · read 2020-03-15

This book has good, true sentences. It also has weird stretches. It reads like a time capsule into late 70s/early 80s feminism, so I was surprised at the 1999 release date. I liked it for the respectful discussion of agency and how both men and women suffer from oppressive structures and structural terribleness. At the same time there were things that I didn't agree with, and I did some heavy skipping around the Jesus parts (I'm not a Jesus person).

Worth the Candle

by cthulhuraejepsen · published 2017 · read 2018-07-12

While I'm a sucker for "suddenly in a game" stories, I dislike most, because they're typically really bad. This one isn't. It gets meta (well, not fast, but it does), and addresses most things you'll point out as ridiculous in the beginning. Still ongoing, and very good. LitRPG.

Sansûkh

by determamfidd · published 2017 · last read 2021-01-27

Sansûkh is an incredibly well-researched, detailed, well-written Lord of the Rings fanfiction, telling the whole story from the perspective of the dead dwarves keeping watch over their relatives. Its protagonist is Thorin Oakenshield, and in addition to all the plots told by the primary books, it also features Erebor and Mirkwood. The writing is very appropriate and well-done, and I enjoyed every part of it tremendously. It's funny, and it's epic, and it's very much as it should be.

Taking Control

by fake a smile · published 2008 · read 2024-11-03

Yawn. Classic way overpowered fanfic protagonist who is super special and nearly everybody else is stupid or evil, but He Prevails And Also Finds True Love. Even while needing a power fantasy, it feels kinda cheap.

Measure of a Man

by inadaze22 · published 2022 · read 2024-09-10

Very empathetic take on what having Alzheimers does to a person and their family and friends. The fact that it’s embedded in a slow-burn Harry Potter fanfic romance is basically irrelevant, as it should be – the subject matter is taken on with compassion and intelligence, and even though the romance tropes were sometimes a bit blatant, there was only a minimum of silly misunderstandings and hurt pride (which, you know, isn’t unrealistic, just grating when it’s the only plot point). I particularly appreciated the look at Scorpius, a young child turned nonverbal by the death of his mother, and also that the protagonist has an actually supportive/snarky/etc friend group. The regular Girls Nights with the others (and a mix of tough truths, joking, support, and also conflicts of personality etc) made the whole story come alive rather than feeling like a clinical take on illness mixed with a romance. Really well done.

Psyche, du kleiner Schlingel

by kriegundfreitag · published 2021 · read 2021-10-25

As much as I love kriegundfreitag, I always feel like putting the whole book together is just … too much. It's surprisingly dark, compared to reading just one post at a time. Still, the production quality is great, no simple printout of a Twitter log (as certain other Twitter artists do), and I'm glad to have the book on my shelves!

Reach Heaven Via Feng Shui Engineering, Drug Trade And Tax Evasion

by melmonella · published 2025 · read 2025-03-15

Xianxia plot with decent worldbuilding. Reviewing at chapter 91 (which is relatively early in book/arc 3). As usual, the protagonist is overpowered, not in terms of actual power, but in terms of analysis and brain power. Very rationalist/Martian/my-brain-will-save-us vibes, but with good worldbuilding and progression. Definitely indulging in reading this, but it was nice, and the characters and plot seem distinct enough that occasionally reading a batch of updates should be doable.

The Serpentine Subterfuge

by murkybluematter · published 2013 · read 2019-02-01

The subterfuge works somewhat too well.

The Futile Facade

by murkybluematter · published 2016 · read 2019-02-08

More place-switching, but with people growing up and increasingly high stakes.

The Ambiguous Artifice

by murkybluematter · published 2016 · read 2019-02-02

by murkybluematter · published 2012 · read 2019-02-02

Stakes rise further.

The Pureblood Pretense

Despite the Lemony Snickety naming, an interesting series. Female-Harry has grown up with both parents and her godfather and his son. Due to pureblood idiocy, the two decide to switch places.

Digging for the Bones

by paganaidd · published 2011 · last read 2024-05-19

Decent enough hurt/comfort Severitus. Nothing special, but nothing stupid either.

There is No Antimemetics Division

by qntm · published 2020 · read 2022-03-30

Entertaining and fun. If I were more into the whole SCP aesthetic, this would be an easy 5/5 read. I found myself constantly busy anticipating the (somewhat repetitive) twists in the stories – who is forgetting what? Who has odd blind spots? etc. Which is somewhat the charm of the collection, but got tiresome. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

Comes Around Again

by scarletjedi · published 2016 · last read 2024-05-19

Sansukh-variation, with travelling back to the past to fix things. Not as well-written as Sansukh, but then again, what is? Decent and entertaining, but might have done more with the added knowledge – "some moments in time are fixed" is such a cope. Also clearly follows the movie more than the book, which is a shame.

Draco Malfoy and the Mirror of Ecidyrue

by starbrigid · published 2020 · read 2023-01-29

Pretty alright. Drew me in with the back-in-time stuff, and apparently I read the entire series. PTSD stuff, as is only right. New friendships. blah. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

Draco Malfoy and the Heir of Slytherin

by starbrigid · published 2020 · read 2023-01-28

More of the same. Unreliable narrator, which was fun in places. Very slow burn. Too much patience for this shit, but what can you do. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

Draco Malfoy and the House of Black

by starbrigid · published 2020 · read 2023-01-30

Actually decent. Some development, some betrayal, blah. Not great, but could be so much worse. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

Draco Malfoy and the Wheel of Hecate

by starbrigid · published 2020 · read 2023-01-31

Getting longer, and more whimsical, not for the better. But the whole wand-branding thing is more than interesting, though already shows sings of shoddy execution, sadly. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

Draco Malfoy and the Talon Brand

by starbrigid · published 2020 · read 2023-02-01

Sigh. Relationships. Brands. Blah. Any decent fanfic series inevitable goes insane. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

Draco Black and the Prisoner of Nurmengard

by starbrigid · published 2022 · read 2023-02-02

Still more silly super-hero, super-villain super-drama. I did like parts of the prison arc, actually, but the general protagonist idiocy was just off the charts. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

Draco Black and the Bastard Dragon

by starbrigid · published 2022 · read 2023-02-03

We call it "trying too hard". Falls down all the terrible pitfalls of terrible fanfic. (You know, among the fanfic that is readable and has an understanding of grammar and punctuation.) This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.

Rock Falls, Everybody Dies

by zechamp · published 2023 · read 2023-02-14