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Oh, the first shadows of moral conflict!

Anna Karenina

by Leo Tolstoy · published 1877 · read 2011-12-01

Funny story, actually: I had to give a presentation about Anna Karenina in school, and since the book was so terribly long, I did it entirely from online sources (and got the highest possible grade). But while looking for the passage I want

The Magicians

by Lev Grossman · published 2009 · read 2020-05-05

I enjoyed this one, and not just for the digs against Fillory (which is a transparently renamed Narnia). The darkly realistic magic school: good. The annoying, whiny, dickish protagonist getting his comeuppance: yeah, dig it. No magic refor

Alice in Wonderland

by Lewis Carroll · published 1981 · read 2004-06-01

The trippy book. I read Alice as a child, with a lot of confusion at first, and then with some resignation to the fact that it would all make sense once I was older.

Brilliance of the Moon

by Lian Hearn · published 2004 · read 2006-05-01

As set up by the previous book, everybody is being stupid and then there is a lot of battling and death. Not a fan.

The Harsh Cry of the Heron

by Lian Hearn · published 2006 · read 2006-03-01

Concluding the series, we get the "15 years later" book we never wanted. Things fall apart. Then they fall apart some more. There's a lot of death to go around, much of it by backstabbing.

Across the Nightingale Floor

by Lian Hearn · published 2002 · last read 2021-01-16

Everybody is extremely dramatic in this book. Very YA. But it stood up to a re-read surprisingly well: Young boy in faux-Japan gets his family murdered, is adopted into a clan and things escalate from there. Oh, and it turns out he's not on

Grass for his Pillow

by Lian Hearn · published 2003 · last read 2021-01-17

Enjoyable second part of the series: Our heroes encounter adversity and have to make bad choices and live with their decisions. Less comfort read than the first part, different and good. The ending is extremely stupid and sets up the exceed

Der Auftrag des Magiers

by Licia Troisi · published 2004 · read 2009-12-01

Protagonist rides more dragons, is more stubborn, gets a bit of personal growth.

Der Talisman der Macht

by Licia Troisi · published 2005 · read 2007-10-01

Decent conclusion to a decent series.

Im Land des Windes

by Licia Troisi · published 2004 · last read 2021-01-18

Worldbuilding! I forgot about the worldbuilding of this book. For example, there are tower cities where everything is organised by the tower layers.

Maze of Light

by Lightning on the Wave · published 2005 · read 2018-02-11

by Lightning on the Wave · published 2005 · last read 2024-01-09

Interlude.

No Mouth But Some Serpent’s

More like the first, but starting to show its weaknesses: overly-elaborate stupidity.

I Am Also Thy Brother

by Lightning on the Wave · published 2007 · read 2018-02-10

This was a really rewarding (and terribly long) series. I liked the constant self-improvement and evolution the characters had. Even if the plot was predictable at times, and people didn't change much beyond their morality, I liked it, sinc

Saving Connor

by Lightning on the Wave · published 2005 · last read 2024-01-08

Winter is fanfic reading time: Harry, well, lives for saving Connor. Slow burn, very much focussed on character development, but still sees lots of action and lore. It's pretty alright. I liked the depiction of manners and traditions as dan

Wind That Shakes the Seas and Stars

by Lightning on the Wave · published 2006 · read 2018-01-20

by Lightning on the Wave · published 2006 · last read 2024-01-11

Second War starting up.

Freedom And Not Peace

Harry trains his brother. So very repetitive. Each successive book is longer than the last, with not much to show for it. Stopping here on my re-read.

A Song In Time of Revolution

by Lightning on the Wave · published 2006 · read 2018-02-01

More Harry and more Draco.

Comes Out of Darkness Morn

by Lightning on the Wave · published 2005 · last read 2024-01-11

More hurt/comfort arcs. Getting long and repetitive with the emoshuns.

Mimus

by Lilli Thal · published 2003 · last read 2021-01-21

Mimus is the wonderfully cruel tale of Prince Florin. In the struggle of two nations, the baddies use the age-old plot of suggesting peace-talks to come closer to their enemies. They capture the royal family and important court officials. E

The Martian Obelisk

by Linda Nagata · published 2017 · read 2018-08-02

I felt like The Martian Obelisk by Linda Nagata only built despair to alleviate it, and that was about it. I think the reason is that I don't buy an Earth with reduced but still significant population levels and significant infrastruc

Axiom’s End

by Lindsay Ellis · published 2020 · read 2021-07-03

Unconvincing first-contact fiction. The protagonist is the daughter of quasi-Assange, and lives in poverty due to his actions after the divorce from her mother. It's all pretty grim, and then the aliens land. For semi-random reasons, one of

Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary

by Linus Torvalds · published 2001 · read 2008-12-01

Torvalds tells his (and his project's) life story up to 2000. Nothing special.

Harka

by Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich · published 1962 · read 2003-07-01

This series … weirdly enough, I wouldn't say that it has had a huge influence on me, despite being one of my favourites at the time. And the first part was my favourite among the series (once I got to read it – my introduction was a shorten

Heimkehr zu den Dakota

by Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich · published 1951 · read 2003-05-01

Pain and emotional turmoil. Conflict and strife and family warmth – this book is high drama, and is both payoff for reading the first three books, and also sets up the second half of the series extremely well.

Über den Missouri

by Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich · published 1951 · read 2003-03-01

Concluding the series – I really should re-read to see what I think now. Back in the day I liked the early books more, but then, that's where the protagonist was closer to my own age. I wonder if my reading tastes just shuffle along with th

Die Höhle in den schwarzen Bergen

by Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich · published 1963 · read 2003-06-01

I didn't relate to this book all that much, and I disliked the whole gold story arc. The story might have been better off without it. It's definitely good setup for the second half of the series though, so I won't grump too much.

Der junge Häuptling

by Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich · published 1951 · read 2003-09-01

More goodness: Harka has really come into his own and gotten back from his (well, his father's) banishment. Many well-loved characters from the first book re-occur. Welskopf-Henrich handles the reuniting very well, if memory serves.

Der Weg in die Verbannung

by Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich · published 1962 · read 2002-05-01

Our beloved hero is banished (well, his father is and he follows). The mood is predictably bad, but seeing Harka stand on his own and living through all the shit life throws at him was inspiring.

The Three-Body Problem

by Liu Cixin · published 2006 · read 2018-08-10

I came into the first volume of Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past with high expectations, as there was somewhat of a hype surrounding the book. It's nearly as good as (and too me, evocative of) Subjective Cosmology by Greg Egan.

The Dark Forest

by Liu Cixin · published 2008 · read 2018-09-24

I felt both bored and annoyed at The Dark Forest (sequel to Liu Cixin's The Three Body Problem). The plot was convoluted and wandering, but not all that bad – but the people in it continued to be cardboard cutouts of one motivat

Memory

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1996 · read 2019-08-07

In Memory, part of the Vorkosigan saga, Lois McMaster Bujold shows off what character development can look like. Talk about emotional payoff! Without spoiling too much, we see Miles, our somewhat-hero, change his life in many ways, an

Diplomatic Immunity

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2002 · read 2020-08-15

Among the Miles Vorkosigan books, Diplomatic Immunity did not impress me. Among wider sci-fi books, it was warm, clever, with deep character and worldbuilding, and the ability to make me laugh out loud multiple times. It is a credit to th

The Mountains of Mourning

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1989 · read 2018-11-23

The Mountains of Mourning is a very touching Vorkosigan novella by Lois McMaster Bujold. It's deeply impressive to me how very emotional and touching this novella gets in under 150 pages, while still maintaining the character and tone

Cetaganda

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1995 · read 2018-11-26

As per usual, Cetaganda is a very enjoyable book in the Vorkosigan series. It gripped me less than usual, which still makes it a very good book. We follow Miles as he saves yet another empire. I still enjoy both the dry wit and how you've g

The Borders of Infinity

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1987 · read 2019-03-12

In The Borders of Infinity, Lois McMaster Bujold shows her series protagonist Miles Vorkosigan as a prisoner of war. It's Miles distilled to his essence.

Mirror Dance

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1994 · read 2019-03-17

Mirror Dance was yet another really good entry in the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. I disliked the protagonist (mildly at first, strongly in the middle, barely at the end), and yet the book worked wonderfully for me. I felt

The Warrior’s Apprentice

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1986 · last read 2020-08-19

Wow! If you're new to the series, … start here. This book has all the fun, and action, and, y'know, forwards momentum.

A Civil Campaign

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1999 · read 2020-08-14

Most Vorkosigan fans seem to like A Civil Campaign a lot, and this may or may not have screwed with my expectations. I liked it less than Komarr, which I read directly beforehand.

Labyrinth

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1989 · read 2019-03-12

Labyrinth is a scifi take on the legend of the Minotaur by Lois McMaster Bujold in her Vorkosigan saga. The novella really carries it off.

Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2012 · read 2020-08-16

Captain Ivan Vorpatril finally gets his own book, after decades – both in our world and theirs – of grumbling in Miles' shadow. Unfortunately for him, he gets his book at the point in life when Miles' bad habits have finally rubbed off enou

Weatherman

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1990 · read 2018-11-23

Weatherman is a novella that is also part of The Vor Game. It was the weaker part of Vor Game, but it's still bloody good. I mean, it's Lois McMaster Bujold.

The Vor Game

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1990 · last read 2020-08-20

The Vor Game is another Miles book in the Vorkosigan Saga, and as usual, it is a lot of fast-paced fun. I was lost over the first third or so, where it wasn't clear where the plot was going, and every time I thought I had it figured out

The Curse of Chalion

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2001 · read 2021-04-25

Bujold has a type. The type here being "adult physically broken but very clever reluctant hero, who meddles with aristocracy without being a ruler himself". It's not like they are the same person: there are differences between Miles Vorkosi

Cryoburn

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2010 · read 2020-08-18

Miles does his thing, and he does it well. Side characters are strong and complex. The plot is a mess, intentionally and outrageously, though no more so than usually. Bujold shows that she can do precocious children – they and their treatme

Falling Free

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1987 · read 2018-04-11

How is Lois McMaster Bujold not one of the first authors to be recommended to people starting scifi? Falling Free introduces the Quaddies (humans with arms instead of legs), as seen and told by an Engineer, capital E. It's awesome, and it's

Winterfair Gifts

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2002 · read 2020-08-15

Wedding stories – I accidentally read this one out of order, as it belongs before Diplomatic Immunity, both to get the couple settled, and to introduce Roic as a character in his own right. Oh well. The wedding was, of course, very Milesi

The Flowers of Vashnoi

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2018 · read 2020-08-17

Headcanon: Bujold discovered that her vaguely-somewhat-Russian scifi setting allowed her to tell a Chernobyl Baba Yaga story, and then she just had to do it. Sometimes the prompt is stronger than the story.

Brothers in Arms

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1989 · read 2018-07-11

Brothers in Arms is the fifth part (in order of publishing) of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga and I enjoyed it immensely. After the previous volumes vaguely related tales, we finally return to Miles and his crew. It's been seven y

Ethan of Athos

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1986 · read 2018-03-10

Brilliant fun! Take this mostly horrible scifi concept of an all-female planet, reverse it to an all-male planet, then take it seriously. This poor protagonist doctor, sent out into the hostile and horrfyingly feminine universe, meets the

Barrayar

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1991 · last read 2020-08-19

Update: This book is a perfect read after Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. Sadly, Gentleman Jole is also the perfect read after Barrayar, somebody send help

Komarr

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1998 · read 2020-08-13

Komarr reads so much like Gaudy Night to me, it's ridiculous (although it doesn't go to the same romantic height). That is to say: I liked it very much.

Shards of Honour

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1986 · last read 2020-07-04

I re-read "Shards of Honour" somewhat by accident while looking up a quote for a writing exercise. I had remembered it as a decent first entry in brilliant series: Okay sci-fi, but n

Dreamweaver’s Dilemma

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1995 · read 2018-11-23

Dreamweaver's Dilemma is a short story by Lois McMaster Bujold, set vaguely in the same universe as her Vorkosigan series. It's nice enough, and shows again her mastery at painting realistic scenarios in unfamiliar worlds, complete with a

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2016 · read 2020-08-18

by Lynn Flewelling · published 1999 · read 2021-07-18

❤

Traitor’s Moon

Just as with the previous book in the series, I enjoyed the world and the storytelling a lot, but some relationship-related things clouded my enjoyment.

Stalking Darkness

by Lynn Flewelling · published 1997 · read 2021-07-14

Avoiding second-book syndrome, Stalking Darkness is at least as good as Luck in the Shadows – but it also touches on some serious yikes. I have thoughts.

Luck in the Shadows

by Lynn Flewelling · published 1996 · read 2021-07-02

Excellent fantasy – very 90s, and I devoured it in a single Saturday. Teenage boy with no family gets helped out of prison by a mysterious stranger who accepts him as apprentice. Said stranger turns out to be a jack-of-all trades spy, a cha

Shadows Return

by Lynn Flewelling · published 2008 · read 2021-07-20

This is where I stop reading the Nightrunner series. The protagonists are kidnapped after a lengthy exposition part. The kidnappers are, well, how do I put this? From a country where rich men keep harems and slaves, and where the masters ha

Uncanny Magazine Issue 18: September/October 2017

by Lynne M. Thomas · published 2017 · read 2018-09-24

Two reviews for this issue: Fandom for Robots is a charming humorous story about the only existi

Infinity Gate

by M. R. Carey · published 2023 · read 2024-11-13

I thought this was going to be a three- or even four-star book, but alas, the let-down. Promising in the beginning: I love a good alternate-worlds story that puts some thought into how the whole thing can shake out socially and economically

The Hierophant’s Daughter

by M.F. Sullivan · published 2019 · read 2019-03-17

The Hierophant's Daughter by MF Sullivan was an advance reading copy provided to me by NetGalley. It's … dystopian cannibal vampires? I have to confess that I aborted reading the book about a third of the way in. Its mix of unsympathetic

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

by Mackenzi Lee · published 2017 · read 2019-12-09

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee is fun, but not outstanding. I was very tolerant of its flaws because it's very queer. The protagonist is an English aristocratic ass on his Grand Tour, which is a fine narrative de

A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeleine L'Engle · published 1962 · read 2018-02-26

Started off as five star book, ended as a three star book. I found the religious … themes very jarring, much less low-key than in Diane Duane's books. The descriptions and characters were great, the story and pacing a bit lacking.

The Song of Achilles

by Madeline Miller · published 2011 · read 2021-05-13

Circe was okayish, this is the second chance I was giving Miller before deciding that her access to myths doesn't match mine. I liked Achilles more than Circe, but part of that is that I'm a sucker for the pairing. I didn't like the depicti

Circe

by Madeline Miller · published 2018 · read 2019-11-24

Circe by Madeline Miller is solid antiquity fanfiction – which means to say good things about "Circe" and about fanfiction. It manages to convey how everybody in Greek myths is cruel or stupid or both in some way – not the most uplif

Raven Boys

by Maggie Stiefvater · published 2013 · read 2024-03-28

It’s a year later, and the only thing I remember is being annoyed at the amount of teenage/YA angst, so I’ll just say that this book was not for me and move on.

Berlins Drittes Geschlecht

by Magnus Hirschfeld · published 1904 · read 2020-08-12

Berlin's Third Gender (Berlins drittes Geschlecht) by Dr Magnus Hirschfeld is a description of queer lives in Berlin around 1900 (published 1905). Even though it's naturally sad in some ways, it's also encouraging: Berlin was comparatively

Dog Country

by Malcolm F. Cross · published 2020 · read 2022-08-22

Clone soldiers, but they are neurotic dogs. Much strong, very brotherhood, wow. Consistent, and if you like MilSF, possibly interesting? I'd usually resist the urge to say "Furry MilSF", but the author, and I quote, is "a member of the furr

Innocent

by MarauderLover7 · published 2013 · read 2024-09-21

Logic is the author's enemy. Frustrating read, because there were some neat ideas in there. It's a longer series and I shudder to think how bad the plotting and characters will get when built on a basis this shaky.

Initiate

by MarauderLover7 · published 2014 · read 2024-09-22

Slightly better than the first part, but not by much. The fanfic logic is still making my brain hurt. Please, god, why.

Identity

by MarauderLover7 · published 2014 · read 2024-09-28

Best of the series so far. Ginny's perspective on possession and second year was well done, even as Gryffindor Draco continued to be weirdly written.

Impose

by MarauderLover7 · published 2016 · read 2024-09-29

The series continues at its new fun-not-stupid fanfic levels, rather than the first volume of why-please-stop levels, so that's nice.

Intensity

by MarauderLover7 · published 2021 · read 2024-10-02

It's wild how this series started out worse than mediocre – because here, it's actually good. Maybe good-for-fanfic, but the upper end of that, at the very least. Characters come together, and act with intelligence (especially the villains,

Influence

by MarauderLover7 · published 2024 · read 2024-10-06

The story continues escalating with real stakes, real character development, and tons of accumulated background that is used well instead of ignored as in the og series. For example, in the very first installation, the series introduces lif

Die Känguru-Chroniken. Ansichten eines vorlauten Beuteltiers

by Marc-Uwe Kling · published 2009 · read 2012-05-01

Mostly funny, sometimes hilarious. Listen to it – it loses half its charm on paper.

Das Känguru-Manifest

by Marc-Uwe Kling · published 2011 · read 2015-03-01

More of the same – never change a running system.

The Handmaid’s Tale

by Margaret Atwood · published 1985 · read 2017-12-21

Oh yes, definitely the dystopic tale I needed without knowing it. Nicely done.

We Who Will Destroy the Future

by Margaret Killjoy · published 2018 · read 2018-07-31

We Who Will Destroy the Future is a nice little time travel short story, available online. Good story, good setting, very good narrator voice.

Beowulf

by Maria Dahvana Headley · published 2020 · read 2021-11-13

Confession: this is my first time reading Beowulf, in any translation. So of course I picked a new, modern, controversial one: what else? Maria Dahvana Headley had previously written The Mere Wife, Beowulf with Grendel's mother as protago

Vita Nostra

by Marina Dyachenko · published 2007 · read 2021-08-15

Vita Nostra is often described as "If Kafka had written Harry Potter", and neither part is a good fit. Closer to the truth would be to call it a Russian version of The Magicians

Age of Witches

by Marina Dyachenko · published 1997 · read 2023-01-12

Heads-up, I read this one in German, and I thought the translation was fairly good, though in that slightly annoying overly dramatic tone of German that all German Fantasy seems to be in. So props to the translation to be tone accurate, but

Red Sister

by Mark Lawrence · published 2017 · last read 2025-04-26

Red Sister is a beautifully written fantasy novel that switches flawlessly between intimate characterisation, lyrical prose, and gripping action, all set in a deeply fascinating world. And by fascinating I mean: the moon is a parabolic mirr

Grey Sister

by Mark Lawrence · published 2018 · last read 2025-04-26

I liked Red Sister by Mark Lawrence. Grey Sister was an appropriate second volume – It was a good-ish second part to Red Sister, but I felt it lacked a sense of cohesiveness. For a long time it just moved from one action after the oth

Models: Attract Women Through Honesty

by Mark Manson · published 2011 · read 2020-04-16

Do not read this book, except if you're not interested in dating women. In that case, read my objection below and replace all "woman" with "person" and "women" with "people" so that the ridiculous parts stand out better.

Stuff Matters

by Mark Miodownik · published 2013 · read 2022-03-12

All my notes are lost to a hardware disaster, so the tl;dr is just: material pop-science, fun read, drags on in places. Nice without being great. The chapters on steel and chocolate were great, the one on concrete could have been great but

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

by Mark Twain · published 1889 · read 2020-06-08

I only barely finished this book. I picked it up on a whim – Twain sounded like fun, time travel into old England sounded like it could be hilarious. Which it really wasn't.

The Prince and the Pauper

by Mark Twain · published 1881 · read 2005-03-01

Twain humour and snarky class commentary – I wouldn't swear that it holds up to a re-read, but I liked it a lot when I was young.

The Awful German Language

by Mark Twain · published 2010 · read 2007-07-01

Twain about the awfulness of German is honestly peak Twain. He's funny, and more: he's right.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

by Mark Twain · published 1875 · read 2002-10-01

Probably my first trickster book – I reveled in how clever and witty Tom was. All his tricks, all his deals and feelings felt real and like something to aspire to. I even took his frequent bartering of small items and introduced it at schoo

The Diaries of Adam and Eve

by Mark Twain · published 1906 · read 2006-01-01

Not the height of hilariousness, but solidly funny – might have been my first humorous take on the Bible?

The War Prayer

by Mark Twain · published 1900 · read 2014-03-01

Where did I get my pacifist stance? It wasn't here – I read the War Prayer much too late for it. But it might as well have been here.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

by Mark Twain · published 1884 · read 2003-04-01

Huckleberry Finn is a less likely protagonist than Tom Sawyer, and I liked the book much less as a consequence. Bleaker, more contrived (the plot, at least), and just more depressing. It's probably the better book from a literary perspectiv

How to Move Spheres and Influence People

by Marko Kloos · published 2019 · read 2019-04-04

Unfair rating, because: I'm sick of generic superhero origin stories. How to Move Spheres and Influence People by Marko Kloos is a superhero origin story. It's about a teenager who discovers that she can move any spherical object with he

I Am the Messenger

by Markus Zusak · published 2002 · read 2017-06-29

I didn't enjoy this book at all. Too much everyday mysticism for me.

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak · published 2005 · read 2010-06-01

Sensitive, but oddly distant take on childhood in Nazi Germany.

Artificial Condition

by Martha Wells · published 2018 · last read 2023-06-25

The Artificial Condition is the second volume of Martha Wells' Murderbot series, and it's definitely better than the first one. I see why people love Murderbot, now – they, and their interaction with both humans and other bots, are bitter

Rogue Protocol

by Martha Wells · published 2018 · read 2019-01-04

In Rogue Protocol, the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells continue to be enjoyable – it's lighter on the character building and action than the previous two volumes, and some ticks of our protagonist start to feel worn-out, but I still

All Systems Red

by Martha Wells · published 2017 · last read 2023-06-24

It's hard to judge All Systems Red on account of it being so short – it's fast-paced and engaging though, and I felt invested in the story. But after reading it, I was more interested in reading the next part and finding out more about

Exit Strategy

by Martha Wells · published 2018 · read 2019-05-10