Mer Barr
A really great book for folks to understand part of the current conversation on equity and equality.
The first 90% of the book is definitions and examples, hang in there because the last 10% are next steps to get one moving towards new ways of thinking and speaking. Worth it to cut back n forth from the 90% to 10% and back, as well as reread the whole book every few months to revisit topics and make changes.
I think the author does a great job of building the world but I'm always interested in the storyline and the people.
At the 25% mark, there isn't a storyline with progression, it's like watching several 1-act plays where a set of people are interacting in a location. There were several different groups but I had no clue as to why they were all mentioned in this book; no storyline or progression.
And some of the characters were interesting but there's no mention of why one person is the main character of a particular 1-act play.
99% world building for the first 25% of the book, which is when I gave up because I prefer storyline progress and character building.
The last 1% was character building, mainly for the main character, with alot of unusual characters that come into and quickly leave the story. No deep character building or long-term interactions.
None of my library systems seem to know about this series, I had to resort to interlibrary loan which means a hardcopy. This sucker was over 400 pages big!
Normally it's a month or so to finish a hardcopy book of this size but this was SOOO good it took me 6 days. And I didn't receive the 2nd book in the series before this one but that wasn't really an issue. Yes, there probably were references to things that went on in the 2nd book but considering the complexity of this floor and the warning made by the author up front, I was already level set to just 'go with it'.
Let's see how easy it is to get the 2nd and 4th now.
Great book for understanding the Civil War battles held in Georgia, up to and a bit beyond the Battle of Atlanta. A mix of high level information about the battle going on for the page, some personal recollections from both sides by individuals in the current battle, some artifacts and photos, and some really great drawings of which brigades/armies were where for the current battle.
A bit confusing because both sides were called the Army of Tennessee, thankfully the editor / author distinguishes the sides either by Federal, C.S, or Confederate so you don't get too lost in the details.
It doesn't do a good job on the battles IN Atlanta at all which, based on the title one would assume would be here. Barely 2 pages! Most of the book is up to the battle called the Battle of Atlanta and the battles just following the city bombing itself. Nor is there a map showing where the fortifications around Atlanta would be so I can compare to a modern city map. A better title to summarize is The Battle for POSSESSION of Atlanta.
What's not here is also the infamous 'March to the Sea' and scorched earth policy of Sherman but the goal for taking Atlanta had already been accomplished so its exclusion makes sense.
I just couldn't get interested in the subject, which is strange because I love books and nonfiction. I'll put it down to alot of Latin words and Italian names and getting lost in who the subject of the book actually was.
It seems to be well-rounded on subjects related to anyone and anything to do with the books and people of the time period.
I vaguely remember reading The Left Hand of Darkness and thought this might be a continuation but looking at Goodread's series page, this is not the case. It's set in the same universe but not related at all.
Ignoring this confusion, the first bit of the book is world building and a bit of character building, not much going on but then the storyline comes in and you get to see the interactions between individuals and groups.
A good story that's worth a read but not the mind bender [for me] that Left Hand was.
Contains spoilers
I first read this back in high school and found it an eye opener, 1 page in particular. I'm glad I was able to find it again to revisit that page to see what a more mature me would think of it.
I find the overall structure of the sentences a bit immature [how old was the author at that time? was this their first book?], the mixing of the storylines a bit confusing, and that 1 page still fascinating!
The overall story of the older race I found intriguing when comparing it to today's technology, and the differences between the 2 countries mentioned, similar to the differences of the US's politics today. I also enjoyed how the final situation circled around, leaving nothing for the current peoples to benefit from in pretty much every aspect whether on premise or watching on the tv.
I wonder how much of the overall discontent of the current peoples was a result of the author being in Europe during the middle of the Cold War when the threat of nuclear destruction seemed inevitable?
I had to work hard to remember how this was related, if at all, to the first book and I eventually remembered enough.
The story is slow at the start, more world and character building, then the pace begins to pick up. I had a hard time keeping track of who was who towards the end.
Overall a story with interesting, unique to me, elements.
This book takes place decades down the road from Sabriel and I found it rather confusing how the female main character was related to the prior book. The male character was easier to place but still, I wasn't quite sure what he had to do with her story.
Both story lines move along nicely and the switching between the 2 was nicely done as well, none of the frequent doses of confusion for minutes at a time waiting for something to clear things up, found in other authors' books.
I like this and the prior book so well I picked up the next book in the series Abhorsen immediately.
I skipped the first several chapters, too much detail on the abuse of women for my taste and in hindsight didn't really add to the storyline other than providing 'See how much better her life is now, compared to the start?'
For most of the first half of the book I kept seeing hints at veering off to a focus on young adult trials and tribulations but was pleasantly surprised to see the plot didn't go too far down those roads.
Good action, interesting characters, some interesting concepts to stretch my view, overall an enjoyable read.
The author chose women in a variety of locations and duties which gives a good perspective on the happenings. She presents the sciences is understandable terms and nicely syncs the town doings with the world outside.
What I didn't enjoy was the repetition of several ideas over and over and over. I can understand repeating the impact of secrecy and presenting many scenarios of that impact but to repeat the same scenario over and over is frustrating.
I'm glad she brought the story up to fairly current day, however much has changed since she mentioned potential preservation projects in 2015 and today [2024]. It'd be nice if a new edition updated the epilogue.
My sense of humour tends more towards the British because if I can rapidly guess the punchline or the 'humour' is really demeaning and / or mean, it's not humour it doesn't rate a twitch of the cheek muscles let alone the lips or eyes.
This was really really enjoyable, probably because I loved DnD in college, the two main characters are written well and have great interactions, the announcer is incredibly creative, and the action just keeps going.
The narrator is incredibly talented with his voice. I'd swear the female voices [Princess Donut for example] doesn't sound like a male voice straining at its audible limits. And he does a fantastic job interpreting the announcer's dialog!
If you enjoyed this book give Drew Hayes' NPCs https://hardcover.app/books/npcs a try.
I want to keep reading, sadly none of the library systems I have access to have the book and interlibrary loan doesn't include audio since the '00s when the government started cutting back on funding for the arts and libraries had to cut costs somewhere.
It's been decades since I first read this book and loved it. So much so that its title has stuck in my mind all this time. I thought, should I ever find a library with a copy in it, I would reread it and so...
My tastes have changed considerably since I was in school and not yet in the world. Maybe it's the need to understand human nature and the complex technology we have to day that has me amazed at the simplicity of this story now, I don't know. I find it more.. interesting.. than enjoyable. Not awful, really... but not something I can savor.. or reread.
The story line is not a traditional smooth flow but more like the mind following random thoughts that just happen to be chronological, sort of. It shares alot of pain and the transitions from one perspective and/or time to another is not readily called out so sometimes there's a bit of confusion until a word is shared to get you caught up.
I felt like I was sitting in a car with square tires on; alot of shaking and bouncing of my comfort level and expectations but reminding myself to take a breath and relax, made it worthwhile.
A really great read.
The next book in this series was recommended but I like to start with the first book in a series. After getting in a ways, I realized I wasn't being drawn in by the story or the characters because murder mysteries are not a genre I like to read.
I'm giving it a 3 because the story, writing, pace and characters are all done well.
I'm always so excited when I find a good, hard science, science fiction story. I can count on this author to provide a good story the same way Isaac Asimov and Michael Crighton do.
Great new ideas, not too much stalling to present the underlying theories, some humour, some education on bias, and the murderer not revealed too early.
It was good to be so interested in turning off the tv to read text.