Wulf C. Krueger

For Fox' Sake - what a disaster! What an unholy mess of a novella! Our protagonist, Fox 8, who is, you guessed it, a fox, gets a quick glance of what humanity is capable of.This is a promising premise and, if excitedly well, could lead to an interesting story. Unfortunately, it turns out foxes don't “speak” English very well and I don't have much patience for sentences like this:“But I was fast and nated by those music werds, and desired to understand them total lee.”The entire booklet is written like that and the story is just as “meh”. In Fox 8's own words:“Reeding my Story bak just now, I woslike: O no, my Story is a bumer. There is the deth of a gud pal, and no plase of up lift, or lerning a leson. The nise Fox's first Groop stays lost, his frend stays ded. Bla.”Yes, bla. Read something else. This is bollocks. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

I'm not exactly into faith and even less into “intelligent design” which is pretty much the premise of this short story.Moreover, the idea of humanity (and the universe) being “created” to mature a new “god” is, in fact, abhorrent to me: The protagonist is supposed to be both Hitler and the millions he murdered? Maybe I'm overly critical but using the suffering of millions to “mature” a single individual - what kind of “god” would that be? And what kind of author is it who stoops so low?Altruism - rare enough under “normal” circumstances - becomes a weird kind of egoism if you're the only true individual, if you're everyone.Initially, I was about to award three stars but the longer I think about it, the more uncomfortable I become. One star. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

Wir befinden uns im Jahr 1954 und treffen auf Cécile, ihren Playboy-Vater Raymond, seine junge Geliebte Elsa sowie Anne, die Raymond heiraten möchte. Last and least, gibt es noch Cyril, einen jungen naiven Mann, der zu Céciles Geliebtem wird.Klar, angesichts der relativen Freizügigkeit dieser Novelle kann ich mir einerseits den moralischen Aufschrei der ehrenwerten Gesellschaft dieser Zeit lebhaft vorstellen. Wenig überraschend sprang wohl auch die Kritik jener Tage schnell auf den Zug dieses Skandals im Wasserglas an.Was aber letztlich bleibt ist die Geschichte einer verwöhnten 17-Jährigen, die gerade eine Prüfung verhauen hat und den Sommer mit ihrem Vater am Meer verbringt. Elsa, seine Geliebte, “stört” die beiden nicht signifikant in ihrem “Lotterleben”, das in Wahrheit einfach nur entspannt und weitgehend frei von den gesellschaftlichen Konventionen zu sein scheint.Eine empfindlichen “Dämpfer” erhält das unbeschwerte Beisammensein durch die Anreise von Anne, einer konservativen - um nicht zu sagen: spießigen - Dame, die sich sogleich anschickt, Verantwortung für Cécile übernehmen zu wollen, um den gesellschaftlichen Ruin von Raymond und sich selbst abzuwenden. Empfundene oder tatsächliche Gleichgültigkeit ist Annes herausragende Eigenschaft.Dafür Anne schnell mit vernichtenden Urteilen...“»Deine Ansichten sind modern, aber ohne Wert«, sagte Anne.”... und tut ihr Bestes, Cécile nach ihrem Vorbild “umzumodeln” und Cécile ihrerseits suhlt sich förmlich im “Mißverstanden-werden” und Selbstmitleid:“Die Natur hatte mich dazu geschaffen, glücklich, unbekümmert und liebenswürdig zu sein, und durch ihre Schuld geriet ich nun in eine Welt der Vorwürfe, des schlechten Gewissens, in der ich mich verlor, denn ich war zu unerfahren in der Kunst der Selbstbetrachtung.”Wie viele Jugendliche ihres Alters rebelliert Cécile gegen Autoritätspersonen in ihrem Leben und manipuliert mehr oder minder geschickt insbesondere ihren Vater und reagiert auf Bestrafung mit Melodramatik...“Es war das erstemal, daß ich Grausamkeit kennenlernte.”... sich dabei auf ein kurzzeitiges Einschließen in ihrem Zimmer beziehend.Cécile ist schnell in ihren Urteilen...“Ich sah mit Staunen, wie dieses Mädchen, dessen Beruf es hart an die Grenze der käuflichen Liebe gebracht hatte, so romantisch wurde, so empfänglich für die Kleinigkeit eines Blickes, einer Bewegung – sie, die der knappen Sachlichkeit eiliger Männer ihre Erziehung verdankte.”... und voll anmaßender Borniertheit... “Sie hatte auch ein ganz besonderes Lachen, ein sehr volles, ansteckendes Lachen, wie es nur Menschen haben, die ein wenig dumm sind.” Wahrscheinlich hatte dieses Buch seine Zeit, aber, wie so viele sogenannte “Klassiker”, erscheint es eher ratsam, sich mit moderner Literatur zu befassen und nicht mit angestaubtem Manierismus und Teenager-Zorn. Zwei von fünf Sternen. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

“You're unique—truly unique. You have hair—and it's two colors. Your skin sags, and has all those great creases, like a beloved knapsack that has been taken everywhere and shows evidence of every mile. No one else has that.” This is going to be a slightly biased review because I've read pretty much everything Michael has published and loved most of it. That combined with the fact that Michael is immensely approachable and a very straight-forward person makes for a mixture I can't resist. You might want to read another of Michael's books first, though, to find out if you like his style. Hollow World, while definitely a Sullivan, is maybe not the best introduction. For that, I'd like to recommend his [b:Riyria Revelations 40689701 Riyria Revelations (3 Book Series) Michael J. Sullivan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1547213730s/40689701.jpg 63273639] books to you. That said, bias or not – this book was very interesting, exciting and entertaining. In “Hollow World”, Ellis Rogers, a 58-year old man with a difficult family history escapes his wife of 35 years and his best friend, Warren, when he receives the news that he's terminally ill. Using a DIY time machine built in his garage, he jumps 2000 years into mankind's future. I have a few (minor) gripes with Hollow World: I'd certainly have enjoyed to get to “see” a bit more of the world itself. Yes, we get introduced to some individuals (voxes, wonderful!) but I know for a fact that Michael has a real knack for world building (read Legends of the First Empire if you don't believe me) and I wish he'd used it more extensively. When we reach the main part of the story (a bit too early), we're strongly exposed to “god and country”, “Old West” and “Good old times” stuff. Again, yes, it's intentional but it's going slightly overboard for my taste. Especially when Ellis Rogers – who seemed mostly sane till that point – picks up on the religious stuff I rolled my eyes. I also wished for Michael to be a bit bolder about Ellis and Pax. There's a lot to be said for not making things too easy and even at some key moments (“You recognised me!”) even the daftest old-fashioned guy should come around to see what's happening. On the other hand, the way Michael describes the relationship between Pax and Ellis is believable and – considering Ellis' past experience – it's probably much to ask for him to embrace what's going on. Plus: The door is not closed to more stories from Hollow World, I think. It has a lot of potential yet and I'd like to read more of it, especially about Ellis and Pax and humanity at that point of its development because the philosophical issues beyond the shallow religious meandering are still to be explored more fully. Maybe taking up just a little fewer major topics in one book would be good because, as Michael writes in the afterword, Hollow World encompasses “liberal versus conservative, gay rights, religion, and God” and it's hard to do justice to all of those within the confines of a single novel. And, honestly, there's nothing to argue about equality (not “gay rights”, Michael). Trying to tell anyone whom they're supposed (or not supposed) to love has nothing to do with “dualities” but is simply infringing on other people's turf – just ask Pax. Anyway, one conclusion still holds true after reading a less-typical Sullivan: When I look at my “Favourites” shelf on GoodReads, I see [a:Paul Auster 296961 Paul Auster https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1554662932p2/296961.jpg], [a:Isabelle Allende 15148942 Isabelle Allende https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], [a:Thomas Mann 19405 Thomas Mann https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1430109860p2/19405.jpg], [a:J. R. R. Tolkien 19057277 J. R. R. Tolkien https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Michael J. Sullivan 2063919 Michael J. Sullivan https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1433443335p2/2063919.jpg] - it's just that only the last one never disappointed.

Ich habe mich schwer getan mit diesem Roman Kehlmanns: Über weite Strecken, über knapp 75% des Buches, habe ich mich “durchbeißen” müssen.Kehlmann erzählt episodisch mit Zeitsprüngen über seinen Protagonisten G. W. Pabst sowie dessen Familie und Umfeld. Gleich zu Beginn ließ mich der Auftritt Pabsts fiktiven Regieassistentens, Wilzek, ratlos zurück. Wofür sollte das gut sein? Es klärt sich im letzten Viertel des Romans, aber ich empfand diese Rahmenhandlung, die auch ganz am Ende noch einmal aufgegriffen wird, als wenig hilfreich.“Freudlos” nannte ich den Roman, und das bleibt er durchgängig: Natürlich - das Sujet lässt keinen Raum für Freude, aber das vollständige Fehlen von Lesefreude hat es mir erschwert, dabei zu bleiben.Zumal mich Pabst als historische Figur wenig interessiert: Als Hitler Reichskanzler 1933 wird, ist Pabst in Frankreich. Für die Nazis gilt er als “der rote Pabst” und doch kehrt er aus erster Emigration aus den USA für einen Familienbesuch zurück. Er wird gefügiger Mitläufer, der sich instrumentalisieren lässt und Propagandafilme dreht.»Weder in Frankreich noch in Amerika habe er so ungehindert arbeiten können!An diesem Punkt erschrak er normalerweise und sagte, dass es natürlich ein großes Unglück sei, hier festzusitzen.«Drumherum erzählt Kehlmann Geschichten um die immer fortschreitende Verstrickung Pabsts in das nationalsozialistische Gefüge und die teilweise erfolgreichen Versuche, auch seine Familie zu vereinnahmen.Dabei schreibt Kehlmann, wie gewohnt, sprachlich sehr schön und verwendet - je nach Anlass - mehr oder minder subtile Bilder.»Als er einatmen wollte, war da nur eisiges Wasser, und in der Ferne bewegten sich Monster, das wusste er, obwohl man sie bereits sah: schwarz und vielarmig, heimisch in der Dunkelheit. Und bevor er diese Visionen fortscheuchen, bevor er sich befreien und aufsetzen konnte und seiner Frau ins Gesicht blicken, schwanden ihm die Sinne.«Wirklich interessant wird der Roman, als Pabst gegen Kriegsende mit den Dreharbeiten zu “Der Fall Molander” beginnt. Denn hier wird zumindest der fiktive Pabst vom Mitläufer, der von nichts wissen will, zum aktiven Mittäter: Er lässt Zwangsarbeiter, Kriegsgefangene und/oder KZ-Häftlinge - der Roman gibt hier ambivalente Fingerzeige - als Statisten einsetzen. (Was der reale Pabst getan hat, ist ungewiss; der Film ist verschollen und zu den Umständen der realen Dreharbeiten ist nichts mehr bekannt.)Hier erweist sich - und das versteht Kehlmann meisterhaft aufzuzeigen - dass Pabst in einen fanatischen, geradezu besessenen Zustand verfällt und diesem alles und jeden unterordnet.»«Niemandem», sagte er leise. «Keinem einzigen Menschen. Wird wegen uns etwas angetan. Niemand wurde wegen uns ... Der Film muss fertig werden.»«Der Weg bis zu diesem Wendepunkt des Romans ist jedoch lang und steinig und hätte meiner Überzeugung nach durchaus von Kürzungen profitieren können. Angetan war ich allerdings auf diesen letzten Seiten von dem Rollentausch Pabsts und seiner Ehefrau Trude: Während er den Verlust seines “Meisterwerks” nicht verwinden kann und in “leidende” Passivität verfällt, wird Trude, die immer ihrem Wilhelm gefolgt ist, aktiv und nimmt ihrer beider Leben entschieden in die Hand.»«Ich kann kaum was sehen», sagte Pabst.«Folg mir einfach. Ich bin dir ja auch immer gefolgt.»Wieder gabelte sich der Gang. Ein Pfeil zeigte nach links.«Es tut mir leid», hörte sie Pabst sagen.«Was denn?»«Alles.»«Dieses Ende - nicht etwa das der fiktiven Rahmenhandlung - versöhnte mich ein Stück weit mit der gefühlt ausnehmend langen Beschreibung des Weges Pabsts in den moralischen Untergang. Für mich insofern kein schlechter, aber doch auch kein wirklich empfehlenswerter Roman. Drei von fünf Sternen.Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

This is a strange book. From what its protagonist, Christopher, says about himself, it sounds like he's somewhere on the autism scale. Once confronted with criticism about how he portrays Christopher, the author, Haddon, (from now on: The Weasel) takes the easiest possible way out:“2) curious incident is not a book about asperger's. it's a novel whose central character describes himself as ‘a mathematician with some behavioural difficulties'. indeed he never uses the words ‘asperger's' or ‘autism' (i slightly regret that fact that the word ‘asperger's' was used on the cover). if anything it's a novel about difference, about being an outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way. it's as much a novel about us as it is about christopher.”That's from The Weasel's now-defunct blog but - thanks to Wayback Machine - you can find it here: http://web.archive.org/web/20180825081243/http://markhaddon.com/aspergers-and-autism“Asperger's” is on the cover but it's not what the book is about. Ooookaaayyy...But, hey, at least to The Weasel, he has a good reason for this. From the same site:“1) i know very little about the subject. i did no research for curious incident (other than photographing the interiors of swindon and paddington stations). [...] imagination always trumps research.”(Emphasis by me!)“imagination always trumps research” - so, yes, The Weasel just pulled something from his arse and put it on (e)paper. There is a lot I could say about the demerits of this book but I'll leave it to someone who actually seems to be an expert on the subject matter:http://disabilityinkidlit.com/2015/04/04/review-the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time-by-mark-haddon/Read that article, not this book. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

Wow, what a ride! After the excellent “[b:Leviathan Wakes 8855321 Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, #1) James S.A. Corey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1411013134l/8855321.SY75.jpg 13730452]” and the almost equally great “[b:Caliban's War 12591698 Caliban's War (The Expanse, #2) James S.A. Corey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407572377l/12591698.SY75.jpg 17606541]” here I'm sitting and wondering what to write about this more than worthy successor...When I first encountered the “The Expanse” series, I was sceptical: - I do not like science fiction literature.- I do not like soap operas (so why would I like a “Space Opera”?)- I do not like author's killing off their heroes (GRRM, I'm looking at you!)What I came to realise, though, is that [a:James S.A. Corey 4192148 James S.A. Corey https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1573162332p2/4192148.jpg] has extremely interesting stories to tell and the means to seemingly effortlessly tell them in a way that keeps me coming back for more.As in its predecessors, in “Abaddon's Gate” the alien protomolecule plays a major role and, of course, Holden, Naomi, Alex and Amos are with us again, too.In addition, we get to meet new people like Bull, an OPA operative, Anna, a preacher, and yet another member of the Mao clan. As has been Corey's forte before, every single character feels believable; like a living, breathing person. All of them change and develop which is something I value very, very highly in a book if it's intrinsically plausible.Corey is not only masterfully presenting his story and characters but has an impeccable feeling for pacing: Often we're breathlessly following the rapid developments and at other times we get the time to savour the story, the characters - the entire range of human emotions which few authors can stimulate as brilliantly as Corey does.“Abaddon's Gate” is not entirely easy to love, though: It's, again, pretty dark in tone and setting. There are hopeful “undercurrents” during the entire book, though, that kept me from falling into depression - even when a minor yet very wonderful character dies.As if all that wasn't yet enough to make this book a pretty much instant favourite of mine, there are major human topics that get addressed in a very decent and remarkably unobtrusive way: From complex and, oftentimes, difficult subjects like forgiveness and redemption to somewhat easier ones like our insatiable curiosity (which tends to kill the proverbial cat...) and many others.Just like the books before it, “Abaddon's Gate” is to quote myself “challenging, long, complex and dark but of an overall quality that makes it feel like it pretty much plays in its own league.”Here's to hoping the series goes on like that! Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

Durch eine Laune des Schicksals aus dem Salzkammergut ins Wien der Jahre 1937 und 1938 verschlagen, trifft Franz auf Otto Trsnjek, den Trafikanten (Betreiber eines Tabakwarenladens / Kiosks), findet mit Anezka die große Liebe und in Gesprächen mit Sigmund Freud heraus, daß er, Franz, nichts weiß und die Welt verrückt (und manchmal ziemlich unfair bis grausam) ist.

Franz ist ein netter Bauernbursche – respektvoll, freundlich und (scheinbar?) etwas “einfach gestrickt”. Der See bei seinem Heimatdorf und dessen mit den Jahreszeiten wechselnde Farbe ist bis zu Franz' Aufbruch nach Wien sein größtes Interesse – von der Welt-Politik ist er weitgehend “unbehelligt” und Zeitungen werden von ihm zu eher “periphären” Zwecken genutzt:

“Hin und wieder hatte Franz vor dem Abwischen eine Überschrift, ein paar Zeilen oder vielleicht sogar einen halben Absatz gelesen, ohne daraus allerdings jemals einen sonderlichen Nutzen zu ziehen.”

Aus diesem amüsanten Versatzstück sollte man jetzt jedoch nicht schlußfolgern, daß das gesamte Buch nur nettes Geplänkel ist: Wir befinden uns in 1937 und damit der dunkelsten Epoche der deutschen Geschichte im 20. Jahrhundert und “Der Trafikant” schildert dies aus der Sicht Franz', der ein feines Empfinden für Recht, Gerechtigkeit und ein respektvolles Miteinander besitzt.

Otto Trsnjek, sein Lehrmeister auch in ethischen Fragen, ahnt schon sehr klarsichtig, was noch passieren wird:

“»Bis jetzt ist nur das Geschäft eines Trafikanten besudelt worden. Aber hier und heute frage ich euch: Was oder wer kommt als Nächstes dran?«”

Ein Mensch wie Franz kann, ja, er muß in Konflikt mit der Ausgrenzung, Diskriminierung und Verfolgung geraten, die er in seinem Umfeld einerseits an Otto Trsnjek, aber auch an Freud, buchstäblich hautnah erlebt. Nun könnte man meinen, Franz werde sich zurückziehen, vielleicht in die innere Emigration, genau das aber tut er nicht.

Franz allein kann die Welt nicht verändern, so glaubt er, und wählt daher den Weg des “zivilen Ungehorsams”, der Widerständigkeit ohne Teil des organisierten Widerstandes zu sein.

Allein diese Geschichte erzählt zu haben, wäre bereits verdienstvoll und auch und gerade heute wichtig. Tut man das aber dann auch noch mit der wunderbaren Sprache, derer sich Seethaler wie nur wenige andere zu bedienen weiß, wird die Lektüre für den Leser zum absoluten Hochgenuß:

“Franz spürte einen merkwürdigen Stolz in sich aufsteigen, der irgendwo hinter seiner Stirn zerplatzte und wie ein warmer Schauer in seinen Kopf hineinrieselte.”

Als ich diesen Satz las, war das wie eine warme sprachliche Dusche; er evozierte Gedanken an ein Feuerwerk, das am Himmel explodiert und dessen Explosionsspuren herabsinken – ganz wundervoll!

Nimmt man dann noch Franz' persönliche Liebesgeschichte - völlig frei Kitschigkeit, glaubwürdig und in ihrer Kompliziertheit so wahrhaftig – hinzu, so weiß man erst in seiner Gesamtheit diesen wunderbaren Roman wirklich zu würdigen.

Man leidet mit dem jungen Mann mit, wenn sein “böhmisches Mädchen”, seine “runde, böhmische Königin” plötzlich und unerwartet einfach mal wieder verschwindet:

“Nachdem es geschehen war und er wie ein Häuflein Glück auf dem Rücken neben ihr lag, stellte er sich vor, wie er am nächsten Morgen, gleich nach dem Aufstehen, um ihre Hand anhalten würde. Aber als er aufwachte, war sie weg.”

Selten wurde es so schön beschrieben und waren Glück und Unglück so nah bei einander.

An vielen Stellen jedoch zeigt sich in sprachlich ergreifendster Weise die innere Spannung dieses Menschen, der doch eigentlich nichts als leben und leben lassen möchte, der sein Mädchen lieben und ganz einfach sein möchte, es aber doch nicht sein kann, weil seine eigene Menschlichkeit und Anständigkeit dies nicht zulassen.

Dieses Buch kann nicht gut enden, aber es endet plausibel. Gerade in unserer Zeit muß man dieses großartige Buch beinahe schon lesen, aber es ist auch ein unglaubliches Erlebnis, das sich niemand verwehren sollte.

»And I have a wife to make the decisions that complete my wardrobe, to pick out things like sandals and socks. So I never have to worry about it again.«Those who know me a little better know that I fell in love with Linux some 27 years ago. In March 1995 IBM OS/2 Warp was replaced by (I think) DLD - the Deutsche Linux-Distribution - and I was... free. »As I read and started to understand Unix, I got a big enthusiastic jolt. Frankly, it's never subsided. (I hope you can say the same about something.)«How could I not admire the person who started it all - Linus Torvalds. Torvalds is just a few years older than me and I was delighted and highly amused to find him very relatable in the first half of the book. Be it then...»It probably won't surprise anyone that some of my earliest and happiest memories involve playing with my grandfather's old electronic calculator.«(In my case, it was a programmable calculator which I got from Josef who was never shy to help with my computer needs!)... or be it now...»When I'm sitting in front of the computer, I get really upset and irritable if somebody disturbs me. Tove could elaborate on this point.«... my wife also would have a lot to tell you about disturbing me while at my computer. The entire first half in which Linus remembers his childhood and youth is amusing, engagingly written (despite Linus clearly not being an author) and - to me - highly enjoyable.I had some issues with David Diamond's parts: Diamond is a journalist who increasingly writes from the perspective of a friend. He gets too close to his subject and his parts are weak. They emphasise Diamond's lack of distance to Torvalds and show that closeness doesn't necessarily lead to better results.Nevertheless, Torvald's parts were so good I thought I had a five-star read in front of me after a string of ok'ish books.Sadly, the brilliant first half was followed by a woefully outdated (the book was first published in 2001, my edition is from 2002) and slightly preachy second half: While Linus Torvalds is undoubtedly brilliant at what he does, he's neither a great writer nor a great philosopher. (At least not in my book.)Nokia is still the biggest thing in cell phones, the Palm Pilot is the next big thing and Linus talks about the meaning of life (“Survive, socialise, have fun!”). Quite a few times entire sentences get repeated (“shoulders of giants”, anyone?) and Linus drones on and on about the merits and demerits of people in open source and intellectual property (an entire chapter...).At times, Linus becomes preachy and acknowledges it (»Okay. You're right, I should stop preaching.«) instead of fixing it.On the other hand, years before Android (2008) Linus had the right idea:»And where is Linux itself, and open source generally, in all this? You won't even know. It will be inside those Sony machines. You'll never see it, you'll never know it, but it's there, making it all run. It will be in that cell phone, which is at the same time acting as your very own personal communications hub for the rest of your electronic widgets when you're away from your wireless local area network.You'll see. It's only a matter of time. And money.«So when Torvalds talks about his profession, he's just as one might imagine him to be. It's massively felt that this book has remained in relative obscurity for the last 20 years and has never been updated to the developments of the last two decades - an age or two in information technology.And yet: If you read this without expectation and “Just for Fun”, you might at least enjoy part of this amazing ride.I'm looking forward to one day reading Walter Isaacson's take on Linus Torvalds.Till then I'll leave with three star out of five and this final piece of wisdom by Linus:»Linux has instead brought people both the entertainment of an intellectual challenge and the social motivations associated with being part of creating it all. We may not have seen each other face-to-face very much, but email was much more than just a dry exchange of information. Bonds of friendship and other social ties can form over email.This probably also means that if and when we ever meet another intelligent life form in this universe, their first words are not likely to be “Take me to our leader.” They're more likely to say “Party on, dude!”Of course, I might be wrong.«Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix Tumblr PlurkCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

I don't even remember how I came to read Gavin Extence's debut novel “The Universe Versus Alex Woods” in the first place but while having forgotten over lots of books since, “Alex” has stayed with me because this is more than a coming-of-age story. The main character, Alex Woods, was struck by a meteorite as a young boy and left with a permanent scar on his head. From this moment on, Alex's life takes an unexpected turn as he becomes an outcast in his small town and develops an interest in science and philosophy. His journey is heartwarming and inspiring, as he navigates the challenges of growing up and finding his place in the world.The characters are all incredibly well-developed, and their struggles and triumphs feel real and relatable. I found myself rooting for Alex and his unlikely friendship with Mr. Peterson, an elderly man with a passion for Kurt Vonnegut and a terminal illness. Their bond is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and their conversations about life, death, and the universe are both thought-provoking and poignant. The unlikely friendship between those two was brilliantly portrayed: The elderly Peterson, smoking weed against his chronic pain, who only hesitatingly and grudgingly opens up to Alex to, eventually, putting the ultimate trust in him.Alex himself is growing and rising to the task that Peterson puts him to - it's a very remarkable literary journey.Another thing that sets this book apart is its exploration of important themes such as friendship, love, death, and the meaning of life. The author tackles these weighty topics with sensitivity and grace, never resorting to clichés or easy answers.In conclusion, I really enjoyed “The Universe Versus Alex Woods” a lot. It is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Gavin Extence has created a truly memorable character in Alex Woods. I was about to declare Extence a one-hit-wonder because his second novel, published in 2015, was by far less of a success (I haven't read it either). When I now looked into it, though, Extence has since published two further novels that I had never heard about and which seem to languish in obscurity (around 1000 and 300 ratings respectively on GR right now) so if you feel inclined to give the author of the unforgettable “Alex Woods” another spin, here's your chance!Five stars out of five.Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

I came to this book knowing nothing about it. I'm leaving it unfinished at 50%, knowing I hate pretty much everything about it...First of all, it's rare that I read a novel and can tell after 5% that the author is an old white man. Why, you ask? Well, the hero, a retired police detective, never stops lamenting about his estranged and soon-to-be ex-wife while at the same time never stopping to ogle and lust after other women. Always commenting on their bodies, never on anything else...»She had short hair and was wearing no make-up but didn't need any.«How very generous of him! The hero also keeps assigning “funny” nicknames to everyone around him, e. g. “»Agatha (aka Marge Simpson)« or the housekeeper/valet whom he calls “Dracula”. Of course, he'd never say that to anyone's face.Also, our hero is full of entitled self-pity and oh-so-funny remarks...»This is justifiably reputed to be one of the greatest works of art in the world but all I can say is that it was probably a very cold day when Michelangelo sculpted the part of the statue's anatomy that was attracting most of the attention.«Also, this thing is excessively boring. Together with the turd that came before it, it induced the worst reading slump in my life so far.The entire novel consists primarily of sexism, clichés and stereotypes and is so full of everything I do not like at all, that I can only actively warn against reading this. To round this up, here's all you probably want to know about Williams in his own words...“Firstly, my name isn't T A. It's Trevor. I write under the androgynous name T A Williams because 65% of books are read by women. In my first book, “What Happens in Devon” one of the (female) characters suggests the imbalance is due to the fact that men spend too much time getting drunk and watching football. I couldn't possibly comment. Ask my wife...”Amusingly, my wife actually read this in parallel (without either of us knowing that!) and gave up at almost exactly the same point and she had exactly the same things to say about - just in a less friendly way than I do here... One star out of five for this streaming pile of faeces.Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

Phew... After the disappointing book 12 I was afraid I might have had a fatal overdose of Josie Quinn. This thirteenth book in the series was firmly on-track again, though, and mostly free of the overbearing ghost of you-know-who.In fact, despite the fact this is a mass-produced series, the premise is interesting enough (notoriously good girl vanishes, her and her family's dirty laundry comes to light, piece by piece...), the plot keeps thickening and while I did see the twist at the end coming, I enjoyed how it was handled.All in all, a very Josie Quinn'ish book and a worthy instalment in the series.Four out of five stars. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

Travel disaster stories were promised but the only disaster were the stories...DNF at 72%.Ever since I stumbled upon “[b:Kamikaze Kangaroos!: A trip around Oz in a van called Rusty 20823475 Kamikaze Kangaroos! A trip around Oz in a van called Rusty Tony James Slater https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1429106622l/20823475.SX50.jpg 40169568]” by [a:Tony James Slater 5005420 Tony James Slater https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1326400289p2/5005420.jpg] several years ago, I sometimes like to read travel memoirs - especially when there's disaster involved! By now, I've read all of Tony's books (and those of many other travellers!) and it seemed a logical next step to take a famous travel guide's collection of supposedly funny travel stories...Sadly, the promised “disaster stories” here are mostly of the following variety...“Look, I did this and this is why: (long-winded explanations)”“I could have died from that long walk, the road traffic, my inability to overcome inertia, (blah blah)!”“And, lo and behold, I dangerously sprained my ankle!”This is neither very entertaining nor does it make for a good read which is why I'm abandoning this for good.One star out of five.Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

Georgie, 28 years old, in spite of being highly successful at her job as a personal assistant has recently been let go by her latest employer. She takes a break and comes home to her rural hometown due to feeling like huge parts of her are simply “blank”. She finds an old notebook she created when she was 13, shortly before entering high school. So what's a successful 28 year old to do? She decides to do what her thirteen year old self considered great ideas: Like jumping into a river from a dock that was probably “safe enough” some 15 years ago but has been neglected since... What could possibly go wrong, eh?In the process, Georgie meets Levi and proceeds in her teenage rampage with him - including heavy petting and extensive dry-humping on her parents' couch... I could certainly relate to that - not at 28, though.Then there's Levi. For most of the book, Levi “who is very nearly in [his] midthirties” is brooding, angsty, anxious and insecure. He, too, has come a long way: From local troublemaker to local dock builder, Levi rose to many occasions - just not confronting his toxic father and, thus, he's also estranged from his siblings for no good reason at all.Yes, I get it, it's certainly possible to deeply and thoroughly internalise parental abuse but Levi is in therapy and yet never addressed his daddy issues?! Sorry, that's hard to believe...Also, dear Levi acts immensely immature at a certain point. That scene was so mind-numbingly stupid I could hardly believe what I had read. The “big reveal” about the “blankness” Georgie feels was another major let-down; the explanation of it all is so ridiculously simple that only our 28-year-old going on 13 could come up with it.At several points I wondered how those two people had even made it alive to 28 and mid-thirties respectively...Thankfully, there are some redeeming qualities: Once everyone starts actually talking with each other, things start making some sense at least. A certain scene between Levi and his brother actually felt real and believable.All in all, this read like a shallow “dramedy” rather than the romantic comedy I expected but this novel failed to realise its potential.A generous three stars out of five. Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

Redemption Through Fire: A Triumphant FarewellI'm currently reading books from the depths of my Kobo - things that haven't been on my radar for a long time or which I was afraid to read. “[b:The Sign of the Devil 58755099 The Sign of the Devil (Frey & McGray #7) Óscar de Muriel https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1653314118l/58755099.SX50.jpg 92494326]” by [a:Óscar de Muriel 8584678 Óscar de Muriel https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1515333621p2/8584678.jpg] was one from the latter category.The previous two instalments simply stank: bland stories, bad writing, character regressions instead of development — it was Murphy's Law materialised as a book.And yet, I needed closure — “all will be revealed”, de Muriel promised for this final novel in his Frey and McGray series.To my immense surprise, not only did he keep his promise, but he actually wrote a fast-paced, interesting, suspenseful, yes, even thrilling swan song for both his eponymous protagonists and even some side characters. First among the latter is, of course, Ms. Amy “Pansy” McGray (nothing will be revealed here, though!).Like the phoenix from the ashes, de Muriel rises and shines: The writing is finally engaging again, the story expands at breakneck speed which is extremely fitting as this time, it's — sometimes literally — a race against time, and Frey is back at the top of his game and changed by it...»‘And I am sure Nine-Nails will be a bottomless pit of information on the odd and ghostly!'‘Do not say it so disparagingly. You must know almost as much as he does by now.' ‘Hardly,' I lied, the ingredients for a witch's bottle at once coming to mind.«... whereas McGray finally starts developing a character that doesn't comprise just his signature “Och nae”.»McGray poked my sternum quite harshly. ‘Don't milk it, Percy. I ken yer balls've finally dropped, but patience is nae my strongest suit.'«Much of what made me like the early novels is back, and the lengths, illogical and nonsensical actions are gone. We're back to something that actually resembles (to some positive extent) a police procedural with a better balance between science and the “supernatural”.This is one of the kinds of farewells that I for one wish for: for the characters, the readers, and, of course, the author. For any fan of this series, this is most certainly a must-read. For newcomers, start with the first novel, make sure to ignore the mere existence of books five and six, and head to this seventh one instead. Nothing of value, story-wise, will be lost.For me, this book is very likely the last one by Óscar de Muriel I'll ever read since his inclusion of the “supernatural” in the first place always was a gripe of mine and, ultimately, neither his writing nor his stories entice me enough to keep up with whatever he's going to write next.Still, this novel garners a full five stars out of five.Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

»Annie used to have a funny theory: we all have a Year Zero around which the calendars of our lives pivot. At some point you meet someone, and they become so important, so metamorphic, that ten, twenty, sixty-five years down the line you look back and realize that you could split your existence in two. Before they showed (BCE), and your Common Era. Your very own Gregorian calendar.«“[b:Love on the Brain 59571699 Love on the Brain Ali Hazelwood https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657897729l/59571699.SY75.jpg 93021199]” by [a:Ali Hazelwood 21098177 Ali Hazelwood https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1611084228p2/21098177.jpg] is - for the time being - my gold standard for romance. It's the lovechild of romance and nerdiness; it's The Ultimate Nerdy Romance! Almost every sentence was pure joy to read!»I will slay a murder of dragons for you.”- “I looked it up,” Levi says from the doorjamb. “It's a thunder of dragons.”«Bee Königswasser meets her arch-nemesis from graduate school, Levi Ward, again when she's taking up a position as a co-lead with him on a NASA project. She has a lot of good reasons to believe Levi hates her but...Bee is obsessed with Marie Curie, he's a guy with a cat named Schrödinger. What could possibly go wrong?»Wouldn't you tell yourself that there's a reason this cluster of shit came about? Saturn ascending to the house of Sagittarius. Not enough lambs sacrificed to the Spaghetti Monster. Bad things come in threes. We're only humans. We're full of “whys,” drowning in “whys.” Every once in a while, we need a bit of “because,” and if it's not readily available, we make it up.«The answer is simple: Nothing - from the chapter names, e. g. “Raphe nuclei: Happiness” (Raphe nuclei quite literally make you happy!), to the scribble-inspired picture of dots, crosses and circles that lead into every chapter and made me happy on their own, to the intelligent writing, to the opinions expressed (“Anyway, Harry Potter is tainted forever [...]”). Ali Hazelwood gets it right on every single level.She makes liberal use of amusing pop culture references and Hazelwood's proverbial feather tickles not only my diaphragm but easily surpasses many other books.»Science, I tell myself in my inner Jeff Goldblum voice, finds a way.«On the other hand, I felt ashamed for my fellow men when Hazelwood so aptly wrote about women not only in STEM but in my profession, IT (Information Technology), as well:»As I wait for the crowd to disperse, I take stock of the room. Levi's team appears to be WurstFest™ material. The well-known Meatwave. A Dicksplosion in the Testosteroven. The good old Brodeo.«Many, if not, sadly, even most of us, are just like that and I'd like to apologise to every non-male co-worker whom I've not supported as I should have in such a situation. I know I could have done better and I promise I've been working on improving for years now and will keep trying.Apart from that, I couldn't help but relate to Bee in so many aspects... From her fear of spiders...»“It's just . . . animals are so cute. Except for spiders. But spiders are not really animals.”«... to actually thinking about appropriate collective nouns for the most majestic fictitious animals...»a murder of dragons.”- “Is that their collective noun?”“It should be.”«Hazelwood doesn't just achieve greatness by appealing to my inner nerd, though, but she has a whole lot of pretty good ideas like the “Year Zero” I quoted at the very beginning. She is deeply sympathetic to both Bee and Levi in all their respective glorious imperfections - from Bee's annoying assumptions born out of her past experiences to Levi's inability to actually declare his feelings. I love how natural those two feel.»“Oh.” I flush as vermillion as a cardinal male at the peak of mating season. My heart thrashes in my chest—also like a cardinal male at the peak of mating season. “Right.”«It's not just the primary characters Hazelwood gets right, though: Rocío, Bee's research assistant, a grumpy goth who falls hard for a blond, bubbly, pink-loving woman, coming fresh from a relationship with a guy and Bee not even blinking an eye...Annie, her former best friend, Guy... They all feel like real people. It's just plain great to read about them all.Even the smallest details...»Levi and I aren't going to have a ceremony until this summer. July 26, to be precise.«... are just plain perfect! (If you're reading this on Amazon, google “marie curie july 26”, if you're elsewhere just click here)This entire book is smart, clever, warm-hearted, intelligent, inclusive, liberal, progressive and all-around brilliant! If you're even the tiniest bit of a nerd, read it. If you're into romance, read it. Easiest and happiest five out five stars this year so far!Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

From a story point of view [a:Harrow's 9823112 Alix E. Harrow https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1605188394p2/9823112.jpg] second “Fractured Fable“, “[b:A Mirror Mended 58724595 A Mirror Mended (Fractured Fables, #2) Alix E. Harrow https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631108011l/58724595.SY75.jpg 92420574]”, starts right after “[b:A Spindle Splintered 56179356 A Spindle Splintered (Fractured Fables, #1) Alix E. Harrow https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611862560l/56179356.SY75.jpg 74636201]” with Zinnia Gray, our protagonist, still trying to fix happily-ever-afters for a lot of Sleeping Beauties.That's where my issues start: Why Zinnia again? Why not create a new character? Zinnia's story arc was complete after “Spindle” and in my opinion, it would have made a lot more sense to create a fresh new character for this book.In fact, there's a lot that gets repeated here: Zinnia still “falls” through the multiverse with the evil queen from Snow White, Eva, she intends to help. Sadly, while “Spindle” was a modern retelling of the old fairy tale, “Mirror” features some of Snow White's characters and ideas but at no point is it any kind of retelling. It's much more of a complicated series of events that somehow occur - sometimes all too conveniently - without much influence from either Zinnia or Eva.There are also a great many references to the first book that serve no real purpose, remain mostly obscure and, sometimes, completely unexplained. Since there's no real plot to this book, much of what we get to read feels forced and contrived: Eva gets to redeem herself and changes her character - but hardly convincingly. She's pretty much bribed into being a good queen by Zinnia and also likely motivated by the sexual tension between both of them but there's no real catharsis.Maybe I'm mis-remembering it but I also felt that “Spindle” had less “young adult vibes”. While that was certainly the target group, I (far beyond young adult age) still enjoyed it. “Mirror” feels much more “young” and naïve at that. It even shows when Zinnia complains about the “spoken” exclamation or question marks which even get spelled out:»Another, while her eyes bore into mine and my brain produces nothing but strings of panicked question marks (?????????). I try very hard not to look at her mirror.«All in all, while not being outright bad, this book pales in comparison to its predecessor.Two out of five stars.Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam

Once more, a novel that wasn't bad - but not really good either. The simplistic plot, the huge cast, jumping around in time, many different points of views and the many clichés don't help either.Let's start with a plot: A rich guy, Rhys, whose career was on a downward spiral was murdered. Since he created a rich-people settlement in rural Wales, pretty much everyone from the nearby village hated him and two police detectives, Ffion and Leo, investigate the murder. That's something we've read countless times. Nothing about the plot is new. Not a single aspect.As for the cast: We have the afore-mentioned village and every single villager has a reason to hate and kill our victim. From the postwoman up to and including Ffion herself. Then there are the other rich people who also all have pretty good reasons for offing the victim.Many of these people are also rather superficially presented: There's the sexy social media influencer, the laid-back boxer-gone-actor, the teenage mother, the juvenile offender, the tough-grim nature-loving hermit/witch-doctor, the husband left behind who wants his wife back and many others. Almost all of them weren't well-developed and distinctive enough to make me care much about them or their stories. (Ffion being an exception here...)All in all, we get to know at least 20 people and most of them get a chapter or two to present how Rhys wronged them and after about ten of these chapters I was starting to think this was going to be an “Orient Express” scenario. Rhys has pretty much no redeeming qualities and why someone didn't kill him much earlier mystified me more than the actual mystery...All these points of view are also mostly told going backwards in time. (Unless we jump forward but have to figure that out on our own...). The murder occurred during New Year's Eve and we're going backwards to June (maybe in the same year? Not sure...) and then again forwards to June (the following year)...Among all this jumping around in time and space, about every other chapter is actually about our detectives trying to figure things out but their actual work gets mostly lost in between all the other points of view and the resulting tons of red herrings. I had a hard time following the investigation amidst all the other elements.Since pretty much none of those people are very interesting and things move along so slowly, there's only one point in the novel at which things actually get dramatic and interesting and that's a certain scene at night, during a storm on the lake - that (and what ensued) was the one moment in the novel that things actually became a bit suspenseful at least. That we don't even get to know in the end what becomes of the culprit doesn't even really matter anymore at that point...All in all, this was seriously average but at least I now know another series I won't pursue any further.Three stars out of five.Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

A mystery and police procedural derailed by the author's stumbling (repeated) attempt at conveying an important messageI used to be a huge fan of the Inspector Lynley mysteries by [a:Elizabeth George 1402383 Elizabeth George https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1235518043p2/1402383.jpg] as they were always suspenseful, exciting, interesting, serious and, sometimes, unobtrusively presented ideas about social issues as well. The mystery always came first, though.This worked very well for the first 12 books in this series. In book 13, though, George killed off an important character and used book 14 to explore what led to this murder - and derailed the entire series. Since that book, most of George's “mysteries” are actually prolonged social commentaries with the actual mystery and police procedural parts playing a “supporting role” only.Social commentary is fine and can actually add to and even improve a mystery. However, it takes a special sensitivity and caution in order to integrate it “seamlessly” into the story. This is where greater authors than Elizabeth George may succeed whereas she, almost tragically, keeps trying and failing to convey her “message”.This is also the case in “[b:Something to Hide 57841179 Something to Hide (Inspector Lynley, #21) Elizabeth George https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620779405l/57841179.SY75.jpg 82387728]” in which Lynley and his colleagues are first mentioned in part two of the book - when one fifth of the book is already gone. Which is all the more sad as they would have had the potential to actually “save” this book: Winston Nkata is the same unpretentious good cop with a big heart and a good sense of humour as ever. Barbara Havers is... Barbara - in the best and worst possible sense.Once more, Deborah St. James and her husband, Simon, are part of the story but they, too, have been relegated to the background mostly. Deborah is a bit more present as she's creating a book with photos of victims of female genital mutilation (FGM).Which is, in fact, the primary topic of this book: Lynley investigates the murder of a colleague who was both mutilated herself and was working on a task force to combat FGM in London. Now, to put things straight before I proceed: Female genital mutilation is a horrible, disgusting procedure with no other purpose than to oppress and keep down the women so abused. It is rightfully outlawed in many countries and should be outlawed universally as it is in direct violation of basic human rights. Sadly, this book does nothing to further that cause: Elizabeth George is just not good enough an author to actually make a difference. And, in fact, towards the end of the book she makes Lynley say the following:»“It's easier, isn't it, to see things as Teo Bontempi did: in black and white. If there's no grey area to think about, a decision appears simple.”«This is meant as a criticism of the murder victim, Teo, the cop who worked against FGM. There simply is no “grey area” with respect to FGM - neither in the book nor in the world is there anything but a moral imperative to oppose FGM. That George actively and wilfully sabotages this disgusts me.As for the book, it was mostly boring: For the first ten percent of it, simply nothing happens apart from setting the stage for FGM and adding the other “prerequisites” for a “Georgian” mystery-gone-social commentary: domestic violence, (at least) two dysfunctional marriages, a child with severe disabilities and other major and minor conflicts which add only to the page count but not the story.The story about the murder of Teo Bontempi is lacklustre at best and, to me at least, not convincing at all. It's also taken ransom by all the other narrated conflicts and there's no chance for actual suspense to build.Lynley's complicated relationship with Dairdre takes some room as well and, almost as a side note, Barbara's love interest from an earlier book, Salvatore Lo Bianco, makes a short appearance, too. Last and least, I was disappointed with the writing: George used to write in clear, razor-sharp prose with intricate sentence structure and great style. At least during part one of this book, nothing of that is left. There were actually some sentences which made me wonder if that's actually correct English (I'm not a native speaker).All in all, I was constantly considering simply quitting this book and only soldiered on to get to the end of what is probably going to be my last Lynley novel...Two out of five stars.Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

In my youth, I loved comics. I regularly read Asterix, Spirou & Fantasio, The Adventures of Tintin and Gaston; just to name a few. I still love those dearly, despite quite a few of them (especially Tintin) not aging very well because those comics are “children” of their time - they're ranging from “culturally insensitive” to “fairly damn racist” which I realised when I started re-reading Tintin after all those decades. So, lesson number one: Be careful if you revisit the heroes of your childhood.Another thing I've learned long ago: I don't like post-apocalyptic stories. Call me an incurable optimist but in spite of all the challenges we, as humans, face, I'm sure we will overcome those challenges and prevail. So, apocalypse? Go away.In 2012, I played Telltale Games' adventure game “The Walking Dead”. Pretty much a post-apocalyptic interactive novel. The game - as its successors - focuses strongly on character development and emotion.Despite the setting I originally hated, I was captivated. Then I found out this entire thing was based upon a “graphic novel”. A graphic novel... sounded a) rather pretentious and b) a lot like my good old comics so I decided to give it a try. I hated the setting, I hated the violence, I hated the gore - and yet, I liked it. After binge-reading all the novels available at the time, I had fallen in love with this modern kind of comic. And I came to understand why the term “graphic novel” is actually very fitting (in this case at least!): “The Walking Dead” featured highly interesting characters, a strong storyline and it touched upon a LOT of ethical and moral issues which are never “dealt with” and “done with” easily but are most often explored, a journey embarked upon and never taken lightly.The most intriguing part, though, was the amazing cast of characters: From the eponymous “Walking Dead”, the roamers or walkers who everyone is destined to become, to the small-town cop Rick Grimes who pretty much becomes the centre of world of “The Walking Dead” (very much against his will and to his chagrin!), heroines like Andrea (no, it's just that something flew into both of my eyes!) or Maggie and remarkable villains (who sometimes developed immensely!) like Negan to all the diverse and non-discriminating (I think we've seen all of LGBT) other characters. Speaking of LGBT: This is one of the very few brilliant examples of how to be non-discriminating - by simply not caring AT ALL. As can be imagined, considering we're talking about an adult graphic novel, we see deep love of every kind among the characters and their gender simply doesn't matter (or at least not to the “good” people).As if the great cast and the story and all that wasn't already enough, the character development during its entire run among said cast was fantastic as well. I don't think I've ever found the characters so believable and relatable in some cases and, in other cases, sometimes so outlandish and yet still so conceivable. What Negan was and what he became and, especially, HOW he became it, for example, is textbook-worthy. A truly masterful achievement of storytelling.As can be imagined in the afore-mentioned post-apocalyptic scenario, a lot of that cast will, unfortunately, die. Now, you can just kill Star Trek's red-shirts off. You can kill the nameless masses. Beware of killing off major characters as had to be done in this graphic novel: If you just kill off your character in, e. g. a “red wedding”, and that's pretty much it, you leave your readers alone in their astonishment, their shock and, yes, even in their grief.You might get away with it but you WILL alienate a part of your audience.If, on the other hand, you kill if and when you simply HAVE to (e. g. because the story demands it) and you do it in a way that respects the character and preserves its dignity, then I can accept and respect that. That said, Kirkman gets even that right: At one point, a MAJOR character dies. And, damn, did I cry. The novel ends with an optimistic perspective and that would have worked already.Kirkman improves on that, though, and adds:“I'm sorry.I'm sorry to my fans and to myself and to [...]. I feel like I killed a close friend. The deaths in this series are never taken lightly, they're never done with a sense of glee. They weigh on me the same way they weigh on you. These characters are very real to me, and their deaths are upsetting even to me.[...]”As you can see, this reflects my view on killing characters and puts it very clearly.So, let's see: Great story, great cast, great author - what's there not to like?Well, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself. There are 193 regular issues but I didn't quite binge-read them actually. In fact, my interest was slightly like the moon waxing and waning - I'd read, let's say, 50 issues and, feeling sated, I would move on to something else. After a few months or a year, I would read the next 50 or so and, thus, the cycle started anew. So, yes, for me there was enough “Walking Dead” and so I took my leave of that world for quite some time and, yet, would succumb to its lure all the same.I've been told (and read in reviews of people whose opinions I value highly) that the quality among the story arcs varies. That could be true. Maybe it wasn't just feeling sated but stumbling upon a weaker story arc that made me read something else.I simply do not know.What I DO know, though, is that I will sorely miss being able to revisit the world of the “Walking Dead” which I have come to respect and love just like any other wonderfully and skillfully crafted fantastic world.If you're just into comics/graphic novels, try “The Walking Dead”. If you don't like reading or some such nonsense, try “The Walking Dead”.If you're beyond comics but are still willing to give the genre another chance, let it be “The Walking Dead” to make you feel the magic (albeit a completely different kind!) once more. If you're basically anyone, try “The Walking Dead”. They ARE that good. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

I've long wanted to read some of the more “classic” mysteries in the hopes of finding another Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple. I was also inspired by 1986's mystery-adventure “Killed Until Dead” in which Wimsey and other classic sleuths investigate. Unfortunately, [a:Dorothy L. Sayers' 8734 Dorothy L. Sayers https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1519840173p2/8734.jpg] “[b:Strong Poison 246225 Strong Poison (Lord Peter Wimsey, #6) Dorothy L. Sayers https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486963427l/246225.SY75.jpg 1121561]” failed to impress, feeling distinctly dated. Published in 1930, it suffers from the mannerisms, the tone, and the zeitgeist of the previous decade which detracted from my overall enjoyment. Right from the outset, the narrative was bogged down by a significant information dump delivered through the judge's summarising of the case to the jury. This served as an intro, and while I appreciate thorough background, it dragged on unnecessarily for the first 12% of the novel, making for a tedious start. Lord Peter Wimsey, the supposed star of the show, comes across as unsympathetic and rather superficial. His character, along with that of Harriet Vane, left me feeling disconnected and uninvested. The novel seemed to revel in his eccentricity without endearing him to the reader. Unlike Holmes, Poirot, or Marple, whose quirks add depth and charm, Wimsey's characteristics felt forced and less appealing.The secondary characters did not fare much better in my estimation. Harriet Vane, the accused at the heart of the narrative, and various other figures blended into the background without making a significant impact.Moreover, the characterisation is often shallow and relies on outdated stereotypes.»“Female intuition,” said Eiluned, bluntly. “She doesn't like the way he does his hair.”«To make matters worse, I correctly guessed the culprit and motive early on, leaving me underwhelmed for much of the remainder of the novel.Despite its shortcomings, I must admit that “Strong Poison” is not a complete failure. The writing is good enough, and Sayers' use of language is undeniably evocative. Fans of classic mysteries may find more to appreciate, but for me, it failed to live up to its potential.Three stars out of five from me; I have read far worse, but I expected much better.Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

“IN THE DARKNESS, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun.”

(The last sentence of the book, almost the only good one.)


I was expecting to re-learn my Greek classics, told with a modern voice in modern language. I expected tales of heroism, of the great Greek heroes like Odysseus, of the Trojan war.

What I got was a pale romance, lots of pathos and characters I couldn't care for at all. Achilles almost always submits to his mother's wishes, Patroclus is annoying and whiny and both fall in love with each other for no discernible reason whatsoever - unless you count Achilles's feet...

“His dusty feet scuffed against the flagstones as he ate. They were not cracked and callused as mine were, but pink and sweetly brown beneath the dirt.”

Or Achilles's feet... Again...

“Up close, his feet looked almost unearthly: the perfectly formed pads of the toes, the tendons that flickered like lyre strings. The heels were callused white over pink from going everywhere barefoot. His father made him rub them with oils that smelled of sandalwood and pomegranate.”

Yes, feet and lots of them...


Everything else takes a backseat compared to the romance parts which simply bored me almost enough to put this thing away for good.

Because, honestly, I don't like nonsense like this:

“As for the goddess's answer, I did not care. I would have no need of her. I did not plan to live after he was gone.”

And whenever something threatens to happen in this book, e. g. for pretty much the first time after 50% (!) of the entire book...

“The drums began to beat, and the oars lifted and fell, taking us to Troy.”

... the chapter ends and the next one starts...

“BUT FIRST, TO AULIS.”

... with more stalling. The story never stands a chance against Miller's prose, it drowns before ever flourishing. It almost feels like Miller is doing it on purpose and mocking us:

“It was easy, in those moments, to forget that the war had not yet really begun.”

Because we can't ever forget that STILL NOTHING HAPPENED. Even the rare fighting scenes are incredibly boring and full of... feet!

“I could not even see the ugliness of the deaths anymore, the brains, the shattered bones that later I would wash from my skin and hair. All I saw was his beauty, his singing limbs, the quick flickering of his feet.”

And what do we get at the end about the legendary Trojan War?

“THE PROPHECY TOLD TRULY. Now that Pyrrhus has come, Troy falls. He does not do it alone, of course. There is the horse, and Odysseus' plan, and a whole army besides.”

Wow. Just wow. How do you get to write so incredibly boring and be celebrated for it?!

I'm certainly not going to waste more time on Miller's books.

Oh, wow. This was... bad, really bad. I expected this to be fantasy while in fact this is a young-adult novel that feels like it was written by a teenager.Kissen (I'm sorry but as a German, I'm having a hard time with this name...), our queer, one-legged hero, goes on an adventure with a former knight, childhood friend of the king, a spoilt brat, Inara, from a noble house - a house that was literally burned down, including Inara's beloved servants, and mother. Inara also has a pest problem, manifesting as a god (of white lies).Among that lies naive romance, attempted-coming-of-age, fantasy-lite and a looooong journey that drags and drags and... You get the gist. The writing is also mediocre at best and, even worse, errors abound: »Kissen wasn't going to let him stupid that easily.«Thankfully, that was the most aggravating mistake but, still, a disgrace.I'm abandoning this at 70% to later slumber on my Kissen.One star out of five.Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

As a rule, I never re-read books. To me, it seems like a waste of precious reading time. There are exceptions to every rule, though, and the books by [a:James Herriot 18062 James Herriot https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1258249907p2/18062.jpg] are one of those. I mostly read them as in-between books: When I've finished a book and cannot review it right away as I usually would, I open a Herriot and am right back in his beloved Yorkshire Dales.“[b:If Only They Could Talk 1038979 If Only They Could Talk (All Creatures Great and Small, #1) James Herriot https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504762607l/1038979.SY75.jpg 3288266]” is the first of a series of books that are essentially memoirs of Herriot's experiences as a young veterinarian in the Yorkshire Dales, beginning in the 1930s. It is a heartwarming and humorous account of his encounters with animals and their owners, as well as his struggles to establish himself as a veterinarian in a rural community.Herriot's love for both animals and people shines through in his writing. He has a great empathy for both his animal patients and their owners, and he portrays them with warmth, humour, and a deep respect. He admires and celebrates the majestic bovines and their proud owners but nobody is beneath him - he helps the impoverished old man and his dying dog just as kindly and empathetically as everyone else.He portrays them as hardworking, down-to-earth, and deeply connected to the land and the animals they care for. One of the things that makes Herriot's books so special is his ability to capture the unique personalities and quirks of the animals he encounters: From mischievous cattle and stubborn horses to spoiled Pekinese Tricky-Woo; Herriot has a special talent for bringing them to life on the page, and his descriptions of their behaviour and mannerisms are both funny and touching.Overall, Herriot's books are a testament to the power of compassion, empathy, and love, both for animals and for our fellow human beings. They are a joy to read, laugh-out-loud funny at times, heart-wrenching at others, and they remind us of the beauty and wonder of the natural world, as well as the importance of kindness and connection in our lives.Once more, five stars out of five.Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

I finished reading this novel about five minutes ago. I'm sitting at my desk to write this review but I don't know how. I want to sing its praises because the latest instalment of the Cormoran Strike novels is by far the best one in the series.This time, Strike and Robin deal with a religious cult, its charismatic leader and everything surrounding these. I will not mention any more plot details because it's probably best to go into this novel without too much knowledge or ideas...I will say, though, “[b:The Running Grave 139399948 The Running Grave (Cormoran Strike, #7) Robert Galbraith https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689796008l/139399948.SY75.jpg 115965274]” is without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most suspenseful novels I've ever read. Not in a cheap, flashy, and/or sensationalist way, but subtly and almost elegantly. The feeling of a permanent latent danger is omnipresent and mercilessly tugs at the nerves of the reader.I felt like biting my nails (which I don't do) and it triggered the worst of my nervous habits and yet I felt like devouring this novel. I was reluctant to put it down and there were times I actually considered calling in sick (which I didn't) to be able to keep reading. I read it feverishly and while I usually highlight passages and take notes, I quickly found myself unable and unwilling to do so because it would have broken my immersion.This novel is so readable and the subject matter so horrifyingly believable (cf. Scientology and similarly despicable cults) that reading “Grave” felt like entering the world of Strike and Robin. This was enhanced by the level of empathy especially Robin shows during crucial situations in the investigation.I just wish we had gotten to know more about a certain confrontation between Robin and two principal members of the cult...Strike, too, grows as a person during the course of the investigation. Especially when dealing with a major change and its aftermath.Despite its length (more than 1200 pages on my Kindle), “Grave” never felt long but found a near-perfect balance between the usual personal issues between Robin and Strike, secondary cases and the main mystery. And that ending...Rowling created a masterpiece of a detective novel and a marvellous piece of literary art.Rowling is also still very much openly transphobic and, thus, I encourage you not to buy her books but rather get them in a library so that at the very least she won't profit anymore than she already has.If you're one of those people who don't believe who and what she is, here's an excellent article (permanently updated) that collects Rowling's disgusting statements and actions:https://www.glamour.com/story/a-complete-breakdown-of-the-jk-rowling-transgender-comments-controversyRoman Polanski, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Joanne K. Rowling - they are different kinds of monsters and yet monsters they all are. I recoil whenever I'm confronted with their depravity. And, yet, I cannot break from their art. I can keep calling them out, though.And yet, despite this, “The Running Grave” easily garners five stars out of five and a place among my favourite books.Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam