Paul

This was a pretty fantastic concept book, but I struggled with the level of detail given to the development of the cultures in this story. I generally have no problem with big detailed books, but multiple times I found myself wondering why I was supposed to care about, for example, the gender politics of giant spiders. Yes, there are parallels to our society, yes, it was a very good thought experiment, and yes, it all came together in a way that made most of the seemingly unnecessary details necessary, but it caused the story to drag and feel drawn out in my opinion.
The same could be said for the human component of the book. I was a bit more connected to them, compared with the spiders because the characters were consistent. Also, it was fun to always be “woken up” in the same ship only to find out a whole new culture and world had developed. Even with them though, I found half the chapters to be kind of irrelevant.
When the book was over, I thought it was a cool way to bring an original story together, and very clever through and through, but the journey of reading this book was a little trying, and I actually switched from reading to listening so that I could just power-listen through the chapters I didn't care about. I found myself waiting impatiently for more to happen, and when stuff finally did happen, it was all at the end and shockingly sudden. I wanted to know how the two civilizations meshed, and that ended up being just one chapter, which disappointed me a little.
So good story, cool idea, but not what I hoped, and I feel that the hype around this book is somewhat misplaced.

The first of this series was equal parts original, thought provoking and thrilling. This one was a little heavier on the thrill and lighter on the rest, continuing but not really expanding on a fascinating alternative world of alchemically enslaved robots. It was a little heavy on war for my taste, though it was fitting with the story, and while I thoroughly enjoyed Daniel's story and the Talyrand's story, the pieces fit together a little too well. I might still listen to the third one, despite this being a little less than expected. I often find second books in a trilogy to be a little weak, so hopefully that's all it is.

I'm finding that I enjoy Sandman's short stories much more than his longer stories. They all pack so much originality and fun into them, and Gaiman really has a way of telling a tale as if it's a timeless classic from eons ago, and not a comic from the late 80s and early 90s. That's especially the case in this collection, wherein all the stories take place back in time, and with known characters of history and mythology interwoven.
I also just loved that so many different artists were involved in this collection. Almost every story had a different illustrator. It really added to how distinct and unique each story felt from the other.
I was feeling a little let down by the last collection, but this one has really redeemed the series for me.

Call me crazy but I'm just not overly fond of the family dynamic of the Endless, and this series, which surrounds Delirium's quest to find their estranged brother Destruction, solidified that feeling in a way. That said, the last two chapters do bring the rest of the story together quite well, and redeemed the previous chapters for me.
There's just certain inconsistencies that don't make sense for me, like why do all the Endless have a realm. When people dream they enter that realm, and that also makes sense with death and maybe delirium, but people do not enter the realm of destruction when they destroy, for example. Basically the role of these characters and their realms seems inconsistent, and it kind of bugs me. This volume addresses aspects of that towards the end, as Destruction points out that there is no need for him to direct or interfere in the destructive changes of the universe, but it still seems like these characters are created more for the lyricism and alliteration than for any deep purpose of the aspects' role in life.
This was a classic journey tale, well told and full of wisdom with meditations on change and the role of reason in our lives. It is beautifully drawn. It is a vital work of literature, but considering this series' legendary status, I felt this volume a little trying.

This series is a combination of little stories, where each chapter is basically a different story, longer stories that take up a full volume, and of course the overlying story of the Sandman's development in his world and with his family. In my opinion, the shorter the stories, the better.
This volume really plays with the stories within a story style of this series, by going what I would call “full Inception style”. This whole volume takes place in an inn full of curious characters, making it sort of a continuous story. However, each chapter is a different character telling a story, making it feel more like a collection of little stories. Then it goes further when a bunch of the chapters are about characters who hear unusual stories. Next thing you know, you're reading a story within a story within a story, and in one chapter, there's another level of stories, which results in just getting lost in an ocean of little stories. Then in the last chapter, you get pulled right out of the ocean of stories to remind the reader that this is all in the world of the story of the Endless.
This was an incredibly unique little volume full of great stories and fantastic art: each character's story had its own artist, which was conceptually brilliant. If someone asked me “What's so special about The Sandman?” I'd probably hand them this volume.
I'm holding back on 5 stars, because as with other volumes, there were parts of the larger story that felt dissonant, like there was a number of ideas Gaiman wanted to portray, and a few didn't quite hit the mark. For example, one of the characters points out that there's no relevant feminine perspective in any of the stories, but then when given a chance to tell her story she just talked about being uninteresting and lonely. Was that the feminine story? It wasn't even a story. It was like Gaiman noticed he had no good female perspective, then decided to point it out himself so that people can't criticize him about it. An odd tactic to address gender inequality in his series, and one that in my opinion didn't work.
Still though, I liked most of what is going on here, and with the last chapter, I'm eager to see what's next.

This story is written in a style very unlike most modern novels, and that can make it quite a challenging read. For me however, it was well worth the effort. Rushdie is as creative and spell-binding as ever, and classic to his reputation, he will make you look at religion and society from a perspective you have never thought of before.
That said, I should add a disclaimer: This book is not for everybody! My book club read this book and most found the writing style – specifically his run-on sentences and erratic tangents in the story – difficult to get over. Some even felt that it ruined any merit the story had. I thought it added character to the story and gave it the feel similar to the medieval book 1001 Nights, which this book was paying tribute to, but even so it can be irritating to the modern reader. For me however, the challenging style just made the read more rewarding, because it forced me to focus on everything that was written (this book is not skimmable).
If you enjoy books with a philosophical focus, you are likely to really like this book. If you also like stories where Fantasy intersects with everyday life or if you like unlikely heroes, then you will love this book. Above all, if you like books that really challenge the way you see the world, you will get a lot out of this book.

I love that this series (and by extension, Neil Gaiman) was given a chance by DC, because it is incredibly unique even though in these first issues, one definitely gets the sense that the Sandman (both the series and the character himself) is struggling to find his/its identity in the world of DC comics. Rather than scrap the idea and focus on more established story lines, editor Karen Berger realized Gaiman's potential and gave him time to develop this story in to its now legendary status.
I didn't really see how this series became so famous based on this collection until the last (8th) issue, when the character himself sort of reflects back on what's been happening, and tries to find his identity. The introspective and existential nature of that story shows that this collection is not afraid to play at being philisophical, deep and truly edgy.
On a more personal note, even though I felt some of the first few issues were a bit shallow and confused, I enjoyed how much they leaned on Alan Moore's Swamp Thing Saga which I had read just before these. I knew that Gaiman was a fan of Moore, but I didn't realize until the introduction in this that he actually tried to pitch stories for Moore's Swamp thing. Characters from those stories were very prominent (John Constantine, Ertigan the demon, Cane and Able) and I loved the way they were incorporated, even though Sandman's over all quest to retrieve his tools did not entirely appeal to me.
In that way, I enjoyed all the stories quite a lot, but was left hoping for more up until that last issue. Now I can rest assured that it will only get better in the next volume.

Shit is going DOWN!

The book starts off from the perspective of an ant, which was certainly neat but it went on endlessly and after a while I just found it irritating. This turned out to predicate how I would feel about the rest of the book in general.
We then learn a strange new fact about the aliens: they cannot lie or deceive nor do they even understand the concept of deception. This tidbit becomes the crux of the book: how can you use deception to defeat the incoming aliens and their superior technology. Again, neat but ultimately irritating.

For mostly inexplicable reasons, the UN decides to give infinite resources to four people to deceive the aliens who are watching them, giving the hope of humanity to these people without ever knowing what they're up to. Oh and they can live for 400 years through cryotech that apparently exists now. Also, for equally logical reasons, thinking about leaving the planet is against the law. Also the entire book is 600 pages and only 4 chapters.
I enjoy a challenging read as much as anyone (maybe more), but the only thing this challenged was my patience.

The book leaves plotlines dangling all over the place, takes tangents such as 20 pages about a guy's imaginary girlfriend, and takes leaps of logic that are frankly ridiculous.

After the first book, this was an enormous disappointment. The unique combination of cutting edge science, revolutionary history and philosophy in the first book hooked me, despite some issues I had with characters and plot direction. This book has none of that, but instead inflates all the author's shortcomings by focusing on the author's Socialogical ideas and theories of what an apocalypse would look like. They are not good.
According to the author, there seems to be only two types of people in the world: nihilistic geniuses and idiots. That shallow philosophy should not be 600 pages long.
I gave up after 130 pages, and that's really upsetting because I thought this would be my next favourite sci-fi series. Oh well, better books await...

This was the best book I have read in years! Stephenson's vision of what the near future would be like in the face of apocalypse is more realistic and well thought-out than any other apocalypse type book I have read by far (and I've read a few).
Within this grand view of the world he portrays, piles of imaginative concepts and inventions are thrown in, from developments in robotics to human genetic modification. These little side-inventions contribute largely to how realistic this world feels.
The characters that drive this story are very well-developed, in some cases so much so that their traits take a life of their own. There is a refreshing number of strong and deep female characters, and for any fans of Bill Nye or Neil DeGrasse Tyson, there is a character that seems like an amalgamation of those two as well.
To read a book that was this well-researched and imaginative really forces the reader to push the boundaries of their own imagination, and in many ways, that is the whole purpose of fiction. Despite the large size of this book, I was upset when it ended. I just wanted to know every detail of the world the author created and I never wanted the joy of reading such a creative work to end.

These stories really stick with you. What a treasure of a collection! “Story of your Life” will definitely stick with me forever in a way the movie (also amazing) simply will not. This collection was actually not as hardcore sci-fi as I thought. Much of it was a meditation on the power of language, with science fiction being the tool he uses to discuss these ideas in. I highly recommend this collection to any lover of fiction, genre aside.
Except the math ones. The math ones are very mathy. I liked them, but they are probably not as universally appreciated as ones like Tower of Babylon or the others.

It's the near future and the world has been ravaged with lethal epidemics. A sizable percent of the global population is dead and many parts of society are crumbling. This is a popular concept these days, and the setting itself is like a milder version of Station Eleven with a touch of Children of Men. Children are becoming increasingly rare in this environment, and illegal experiments in artificial birthing methods and cloning create backlash from fundamentalists.
This is all just backdrop though for a much more personal story about a woman with few means faced with the challenge of raising a child on her own in a hostile world. In this manner, it feels strangely relevant to the world today despite the distopian backdrop. This book makes you think as much about the difficulties of being a single working mom as it does the dangers of epidemics.
What I liked most about the book was the questions it raised: Ethical questions about test-tube babies, gene editing and experimental vaccines, questions about the effects of social and environmental factors on children, and many more. It doesn't seem like an insightful book at first because it's written in first person from a perspective of an uneducated young woman (in fact the narrative can get a little annoying at times) but it's worth pushing through, because the take-home messages can be quite powerful and it will leave you thinking afterward.

This book has all the grand visions of science and philosophy that the best classic sci-fi stories had, but with a far grimmer and more brutal perspective, making this a very unique and cool read. The science in this book is cutting-edge and complex, but applied to the story in an undeniably cool way. Another telling old-school trait is the focus on concepts over characters; all the characters are uber-competent professionals lacking any notable personalities . I have mixed feelings over the author's choice not to make the characters relatable, because though I respect the focus on the grander ideas within the book, I don't think giving the characters a bit more depth would have hurt the story.

Speaking of scale, I absolutely love the way the author integrated the work of philosophers and scholars from Eastern and Western history. I gushed at the way some of my favourite historical figures came to life, and became very curious about the ones I didn't know. Using these characters in the “game” portions of the book, in combination with the cutting edge science of the modern era, this book covers old science in unique and fun ways, and at the same time, comes up with incredibly unique ideas for how current theoretical science in applied ways, all while not feeling overwhelming or overly academic.

Finally, there is the cultural colouring of having the story take place around revolutionary and post-revolutionary China. This definitely created a dark and somewhat nihilistic tone over what could easily have been a story of triumph and hope. While an impending apocalypse is typically met with resistance, many characters in this story welcome it with open arms. My instinct was to think that as an unrealistic reaction, but when you think back to the brutality of the revolution portrayed in the opening chapters and scattered throughout, it starts to make more sense than I would like it to.

UPDATE: I originally omitted mentioning another less than admirable old school trait in this book: his female characters are notoriously shallow and in the case of the main character's wife, straight up cringe-worthy. I thought that since there was at least a respectable spread of smart female characters, harping on this when really all his characters are somewhat two dimensional was overkill.
But this problem gets much worse in the sequel, as does his more odd sociological ideas.
Consider this a warning. If, like me, you loved the scientific theories, and cool takes on history and historical figures, then leave the series now, because the sequels had none of that as far as I read. It's all about tricking the aliens and their sophons. So if you like the author's odder philosophies and the concept of sophons, read on, otherwise, stop now!

This book aims to take a fresh look at the apocalypse by taking the standard concept of the world-wide collapse and standing it on its head by showing a more positive perspective. In many ways, it accomplishes that by showing that after the anarchy of trying to survive society crumbling, people will get bored just “surviving”, and might crave a good show, quality music and a renewed sense of community.
That said, it does fall into some predictable post-apocalyptic story lines but I guess some stereotypes are inevitable for such a popular concept. Another unique aspect is the heavily nonlinear plot-lines; the story follows a large number of characters over a large number of years, and the story can jump from one character 20 years after the apocalypse to a completely different person 5 years before the apocalypse almost completely randomly. Personally, I have no issue with breaking chronology or following multiple characters, but this was done a lot with about 8 different characters, resulting in a lack of flow.
On one hand, that gave a neat perspective as if everything is kind of a blur of then & now, and allows one to “step back” and get a feel of the whole situation. On the other hand, I couldn't really get attached to a character or a story because there were so many of both and not enough time to say much for any of them. If the book was maybe 1000 pages, a story of 8 main characters spanning 50 years could be really powerful, but fitting that all in under 350 pages just felt kind of messy.

I have a feeling that the next generation of fantasy authors will strive to be the next N. K. Jemisin. This book about the planet breaking apart was Earth-shattering for me. Not only was I shocked as an avid fantasy reader at the sheer volume of original ideas and characters, but it also reflects our cultures and world history in a potent way that is completely unique from what previous authors have done.

In this book, you will find a system of “magic” with fantastically detailed rules that follow the science of this created world brilliantly; you will find races and creatures that in no way resemble the typical elves, giants, trolls etc; you will find a world with a 10000+ year history. Yet with all this, the content never seems overwhelming and the pace of the story never drags. (You will also find chapters written in second person, which can become quite an addictive style.)

The cool and original world and characters isn't what makes this book though. What truly sets it apart are the deep and intense social structures. The classic idea of heroes and monsters is turned on its head, and eventually you learn that the characters you follow are considered monstrous villains by other characters. There are some very clear analogies to our world, but it goes far beyond just the analogy to tell a powerful and exciting story. If this book were half as good as it is, I'd have given it 5-stars.

This was one of the most thoroughly enjoyable books I have ever read, and I didn't want it to end.
The book is centered around Kvothe, who we first meet as an unassuming bartender in a small town. It is quickly discovered that he is actually a modern-day hero/myth gone in to hiding. When he tells his story, the real book begins.
This story is mostly in first-person which is a very unique style for Fantasy. The result is that a story that would usually be told in grandiose style is instead deeply personal. We witness his struggles with money and girls, as well as the mental process involved in creating magic (sympathy) and how one develops from a performer's son to a legend.
As he grows up, you can't help but love and admire this quick-witted character who, in spite of his brilliance and determination, seems to make every wrong decision possible. The depth of the world he lives in is created through mini-stories within the story. Through these mini-stories, Rothfuss hints at the full scale of the history of this world, but we only get a taste of. It begs the question of what else there is going on in this amazing land.
Finally, the sheer quality of writing is what separates this book from the rest. When I try to describe to friends why they should read this book, I always fall short because nothing about the story itself seems mind-blowing; it is the way his story is told that makes the book truly unique. The author can describe a sad song so vividly that it's as if you're listening. Without even giving the lyrics of the song, the implied emotions are enough to choke you up. Somehow when reading this, one feels everything Kvothe feels.
This book appeals to hardcore fantasy fans, dabblers of fantasy and non-fans alike. It is a great story, written fantastically. That's all there is to it.

What a heart-wrenching and beautifully written book! The author spent ten years on this story, and you can tell. I was skeptical about this book from the beginning, because although I enjoy historical fiction, I feel that WWII can be overdone, and the concept of a French-German relationship during the war did not appeal to me as an original story. However, I couldn't have been more wrong about the book.
It is impossible not to empathize with the two main characters, and the development of the secondary characters was just as gripping. I personally fell in love with Frederick, a young Nazi who struggles to fit in.
Probably one of the novel's strongest traits is how it portrays Nazi soldiers as more than just goons. The other fascinating feature was the beauty and depth of description used to portray the perspective of the blind girl. The way the cities and houses are described make you almost feel like you are blind.
For all its description and depth, it does not drag at any point. The book is written in short chapters with a back-and-forth timeline that forces you to want to read more. Furthermore it is written over a back-story of fantasy and folk-lore, with a deep underlying symbolism, which gave the plot far more life than one usually gets from a historical piece.
I hold back on giving it a perfect score because despite how well-written the characters are, the main ones can feel too perfect, and though the story was deep and powerful, it did not impact me in the same way others stories have. All in all though, it was a beautiful story.

Man, this story moves fast compared to the books. I feel like I'm nearly caught up to where I left off (the end of Season 2), and it's really nice to be able to go back and see how everything unfolded. This series was fun to watch for the action, but to follow the story, I think the books are best in this case.

An excellent combination of adventure, technical realism and geek humour make this book a home run for modern sci-fi and modern fiction over all.
I chose this book for my book club (before the movie came out) knowing that most of the club members didn't like sci-fi but they all loved this! In fact, I was probably the most critical because I expected a little more fantasy and fiction. Instead this book plays out with the most realistic possible scenario for what would happen if a manned mission to Mars went wrong. That Chris Hadfield complimented its accuracy in a review attests to that point.
Watney is a lovable character, and the switching perspectives between Earth and space/Mars keep the pace of the book at a can't-put-it-down speed. I highly recommend this book! (Even if you don't like science fiction)

An emotionally turbulent story, and a force of moral philosophical ideas. Hugo's writing in this book shows why he is not just among the 19th century's greatest writers but one of its greatest minds over all.
I may not agree with all of his philosophies, but I commend him for how eloquently he addresses the big questions. What does it mean to be a good person? What is it to be miserable, and how can we find joy in a world so full of misery? All this is addressed completely all while telling a heart-wrenching tale.
And if you think you know the story because you watched the musical or the movie, no. You don't. Some of the most central characters in the book get maybe a line or two if that in the movie, and the way all the characters intermingle is genius.

All that said, I would highly recommend reading a quality abridgement. You can cut out massive chunks of this book without any loss of quality to the story or even the philosophies within this book. For example, there are about 8 chapters about the history of Paris' sewage system, and 5 chapters about why it's ok to write in slang. If you skip over those entirely, you would lose nothing.

I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in the history of France or an interest in moral philosophy. For just the touching story though, abridge.

A gripping portrait of the tragedy that inspired Moby Dick. I love these tails of being stuck in the middle of nowhere, and as far as the middle of nowhere goes, it doesn't get more bleak than 97 days in a boat in the dead zone of the Pacific Ocean! It's an incredible story told incredibly well.

I only hold back on the 5 star rating because I didn't really connect with the characters. Choosing to steer away from islands because they were scared to be eaten by scary natives, only to end up eating each other. And then eating the black people first (though probably not because of prejudice, the author points out) It all lessened my sympathy for their plight, but not in a fun love-to-hate way. Their plight was horrible, but I wasn't really rooting for them. The author does a good job of painting their career as a way of life, and their ignorance and poor choices as a result of culture and inexperience, but it didn't sell me.
Overall though, it was really interesting and entertaining. I'd say fun except a lot of people died horrible deaths...

3.5
Reading this book made two things very clear for me:
1. This is a landmark novel wherein LeCarre elevated what a spy thriller can be
2. No matter how brilliant a spy thriller is, they are just not my thing

I borrowed this from a friend because I mentioned a recent interest cold war history and wanted to read a classic cold war story, and when he offered this book, it seemed right on the mark. I recognized LeCarre's name, and reading the introduction, I learned that he was himself a British spy during the cold war, so it was definitely a good recommendation.
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say he's the Tolkien of spy thrillers. If you've ever seen an unusually good spy movie, chances are it was based on one of his books. This book is probably the best book of this kind that I've ever read. The twist at the end doesn't just surprise you (and because this style has been mimicked for 60 years, it might not surprise you at all) but it also makes you think. It makes a powerful statement about perspectives of good and evil, and questions the concepts of whether ends can justify means.
It was a great read and very cool.
Why am I rating it less than 4 Stars then? Because on a personal level, I just get uninterested in descriptions of espionage. Reading what's essentially transcripts of a fictional interrogation, interview and/or court proceeding never appealed to me as a reader. I find some of the games of guessing the whodunnit or the hidden scheme to be amusing, but I never feel engaged imaginatively or emotionally like I do with other genres.
It's an objective 5 Star book, and I really enjoyed it, but it's just not my style.

Prepare to be violently thrown into the historical world of Canada in the early days of colonization. In a setting where our documented historical knowledge is scattered and incomplete, Boyden flawlessly brings to life the history and mysticism of the natives during the first years of interaction with the French.
Switching between the perspectives of a young Iroquois woman, a Wendat chief and a French missionary, this novel explores the lives and politics between warring native tribes, and the natives' attempts to co-exist with the French. The book is unique in that it seems to transcend bias, neither portraying the natives as innocent victims of circumstance, nor as uncivilized killers. Instead it goes into full detail of their gruesome torture tactics, their burial rituals and their sense of honour and respect. It then lets the reader be the judge.
The switching perspectives are all written in first-person which can be confusing at first, but once you get to know the characters, the reader can identify the characters immediately. The traditional chief, bold girl, and devout missionary are all loveable in different ways, and the minor characters work as archetypes for natives and native struggles to occur in Canada, making the story both symbolically rich and educational. This was my favourite book of 2014 and I recommend it to every Canadian.

You don't read books like this every day! This satirical book about what would happen if Hitler came to life in modern Berlin will shock you, even if only because of how well-researched it was. I feared that it would just be a slapstick comedy about Hitler being surprised and appalled by modern-day diversity and capitalism, but it was actually far cleverer than that.
For example, the book was written from Hitler's perspective and it mimicked his style remarkably. At first, I found the book to be a bit rambling and prone to unnecessary tangents that frankly made little sense. However, it turns out this jabbering was actually an excellent imitation of the writing style one finds in Mein Kampf! Beyond that, the level of research the author does on the everyday habits and tendencies of Hitler and the kinds of relationships he had with his contemporaries was staggering. In reading this, you inevitably become something of a Hitler buff. The author was clearly determined to do more than write a satirical commentary on a dictator. The character was so well developed, I don't doubt the Furer himself would approve!
As far as the story goes, there isn't one really. Everyone thinks he's an actor who never breaks character, and the way he reacts to the modern world is not at all what one would expect, resulting in people thinking he's a mockery of his actual self. The concept is more uniquely played out than I would have thought, but it definitely wasn't gripping in any real manner. Also, since it's an English translation of a German book, a few details seem to get lost in translation, such as his relationship to the publication Bild. Not knowing what Bild is left me feeling like I missed a joke or two. Overall though, the puns and witticisms are well translated, and it is sure to make you laugh!

When a book appears to encourage pedophilia, and suggests that statutory rape shouldn't be a law, it's hard for me to shrug that off and focus on the good. But ignoring painfully ignorant claptrap appears to be the only way to enjoy this book.It's considered a classic, and Heinlein is considered part of the “sci-fi canon” but if there was ever a solid argument for why sci-fi fans do NOT need to read “the canon”, this shallow sexist pseudo-libertarian diatribe is a prime example.Now, one concession: This is clearly a foundational work by an influential author. Unlike many authors of his time, he tries to focus on the Everyman rather than some brilliant scientist or intrepid explorer (though the most important characters are two stereotypical “competent man” figures), and many of the military aspects of the book have been referenced and repurposed over the ages. In fact, there was quite a bit of overlap between the revolutionaries of this story and the revolutionaries of the Expanse series ([b:James S.A. Corey Expanse Series 8 Books Collection Set 53152963 James S.A. Corey Expanse Series 8 Books Collection Set (Leviathan Wakes, Caliban's War, Abaddon's Gate, Cibola Burn, Nemesis Games, Babylon's Ashes, Persepolis Rising, Tiamats Wrath) James S.A. Corey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586740617l/53152963.SX50.jpg 79948004]).That said, if military sci-fi or stories of revolutions in space sounds interesting, you don't need to read through the pages upon pages of poorly written nonsense arguments about taxation or atrocious sexism within this book. You can just read [a:James S.A. Corey 4192148 James S.A. Corey https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1573162332p2/4192148.jpg] or [a:John Scalzi 4763 John Scalzi https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562613145p2/4763.jpg]. Scalzi cites Heinlein as one of his biggest inspirations, but unlike Heinlein, Scalzi's stories are simple to follow, more entertaining, better written, and not at all problematic.This book has tons of positive reviews though, so rather than just deride this book as crap, let me highlight why I consider this an irredeemably bad book: 1. It's poorly written and poorly constructed: Beyond the invented “creole” this book is written in - which sounds more like what a perverted toddler would talk like than any real form of slang or creole - it's structured very poorly. The dialogues run forever, in what tries to be an ode to Platonic argument, but just reads as rambling. The conversations are unrealistic, make senseless leaps of logic, go on weird and pointless tangents, and lead to unchallenged conclusions that no rational person would stand for. There's also the plot structure: the author invents a sense of tension by having an all-intelligent computer occasionally state what the odds of a successful revolution are, which basically works to tell the reader explicitly how the story is progressing, rather than actually writing about conflicts and resolutions. Without these updates, most of the book is basically a list of things the revolutionaries are doing, with no sense of opposition or tension. The updates therefore serve the purpose of telling the reader “The revolution hasn't happened yet, and for reasons I can't or won't explain, more needs to be done or else they'll fail.” That is weak, lazy writing. Even without the dumb politics or problematic stuff, this is just a bad story, poorly told. 2. The politics: If one is patient enough to sift through the garbage dialogue, you will discover Heinlein's theory of the “Rational Anarchist”, epitomized through Prof, an exiled professor. In taking about ten painstaking pages to describe it, one might be fooled into thinking it's a complex social theory, but it's not, it's just poorly written. The idea is simple: Do only what you personally think is right for you, and spend no time considering the success or wellbeing of others. If something happens due to your choices, you are solely responsible for that and its consequences. In practice, Prof is very clear this means: do not pay taxes, or for anything you don't want or need, steal from the public if you think you can get away with it, and help no one unless doing so helps or pleases you. Only a privileged white man could come up with something so naive and selfish, because only a privileged white man could get away with living this way. But wait, what about hospitals and schools? Heinlein: they're just scams. What about insurance or social security? Heinlein: Families intertwined by incest and polyamory solve that problem (Why? How? Not explained.) If everyone steals shared resources, won't that be an issue? Heinlein: just extort, blackmail or blow up a neighbouring culture. How is rational anarchy different from libertarianism? Me: it's somehow even more self-serving, more shallow and less sustainable. 3. The problematic stuff: I don't mind political incorrectness but describing a 14-year-old girl as a “sweet little tart” who's “probably a prostitute” and who “should be married, if she isn't already” is just perverted. It's not challenging cultural norms or whatever he thinks it is, he's just encouraging a culture of systemic statutory rape. This is actually one of the only parts of a book where someone disagrees with a main character: an outsider asks if paying a child for sex should be considered statutory rape, and the main character, Mannie, laughs and says, “There's no such thing as rape here.” Everyone then agrees that child trafficking is a great step forward for women's rights, as long as the child has the right to say no. Mannie goes on to explain the economic value of women on the moon, because women are basically a form of currency, and people wouldn't just take what they want because that would be stealing... Except stealing is actively encouraged (see point 2), but that glaring error in logic is not addressed. It's also worth noting that rape is the subject of multiple jokes in this book. Ironically, in this culture where women are forced into marriages with multiple men from childhood, and expected to have sex with their husbands' fathers as a marriage ritual, we are told that women are much happier on the moon than on Earth. There are multiple women characters in the book who are positioned as smart or respected, but only one character appears to have any capacity for political thought, and her ideas are laughed at as pitifully idealistic, too emotional or just a little stupid. Being a good woman though, she gracefully accepts her inferiority, becomes a puppet for the smarter men around her, and spends the second half of the book being a worried but supportive and sexually eager wife to Mannie, who's family assigned her to him. Somehow, the author honestly seems to believe that in his made-up society, women's liberation has reached its peak potential. I suspect he had never actually listened to a woman in his life. The book also positions itself as post-racist in much the same way: Sure, there's still racial slurs and only white people seem capable of having valuable thoughts, but the minorities are all happy on the moon because they know racism doesn't exist. Logic that only makes sense to ignorant white men.As a major lover of science fiction, and its history, I don't regret reading this. I think it's important to understand the flawed history this genre was born from. But there's far better writers and far better books, so now I can definitively say: Heinlein is not worth reading.Want to read classic sci-fi? [a:Ray Bradbury 1630 Ray Bradbury https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1445955959p2/1630.jpg] has aged well, [a:Arthur C Clarke 46055572 Arthur C Clarke https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] isn't the best character-writer, but it's great concept work, and I still really like [a:Isaac Asimov 16667 Isaac Asimov https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1341965730p2/16667.jpg]'s stories, even though he had a history of sexism. Unlike Heinlein, he kept that out of his books.