Anna Tschetter
I enjoyed this but if you're squeamish, maybe skip this one. I thought the set up was pretty plausible with a murderous cult of evangelicals who bring on the end of the world by attempting to eradicate all of humanity.
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[After two apoalyptic, Evanglical horror books in a row I'm off to read something light and stupid....]
Contains spoilers
I read this in a few hours on a very slow reference desk shift and really enjoyed it. Tingle created a convincingly accurate conservative Christian sect that was really well done for the most part. My one quibble is that the prayer to St. Michael that is used a few times in here is from a Catholic tradition and most evangelicals are really weird about Catholicism and praying to saints. So that was a bit of a miss for me.
Otherwise, Tingle really captures the way that certain Evangelical Christians decide that the end justifies the means. Sure, someone people would think that forcing demonic/otherworldly creature possession on queer kids to "save" their souls would be bad. But honestly, in 2025, it doesn't sound all that far-fetched.
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I found this very interesting and a must read for anyone interested in WW2, especially in Japan. I've been thinking a lot lately about my grandfather who was a conscientious objector/medic in WW2 who was stationed in Japan and part of the occupying U.S forces. It's strange to think of someone who didn't want to fight still enacting the violence of occupation and it's a uneasy thing to sit with.
February 2, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this re-read and have been thinking about how one of the meanings - for me, at least - of the text is that hope is often unlooked for and comes from strange places. Specifically, places that the great "races" of Men, Elves, and Dwarves discount, namely hobbits, women, and Gollum. So much of the story would have gone awry if hobbits, a race that people don't know about or think are made up weren't there. The ents might not have been roused, Faramir would have died, the Witch King of Angmar/King of the Nazgul wouldn't have died, the ring not actually destroyed if not for hobbits, Eowyn, and Gollum. This comforts me. Not all the great deeds are done by men or Men.
Also, living through the rise of fascism in the U.S is giving me a new appreciation for the chapter, The Scouring of the Shire. Evil can happen anywhere and it's all of our duties to stand up to it.
Finally, here's a list of orcs and swords who have named in comparison to women (9 total) who have names. Just for fun!
Orcs (5 that I recall):
Ugluk
Snaga
Grishnakh
Gorbag
Shagrat
Swords (5 total):
Anduril/Narsil/The Flame of the West
Sting
Glamdring
Guthwine
Grond (honorable mention for not being a sword but having a name)
Not nearly as many as named horses but half as much as named women.
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This was really sweet and fun! The author does really great facial expressions for the characters. I appreciated Eleanor’s journey from someone sort of clueless and selfish to one more understanding and considerate. This is great for teens who are interested in regency/historical romances but aren’t ready for spicy stuff.
Sometimes - OK, maybe often - a book will arrive on hold for me and I will have no memory of why I requested it. A coworker's suggestion? Read a review? On a "best of" list somewhere? I don't know. I suspect this was on some sort of list but I don't remember which one.
All of that to say, this was a curious read! I really liked the art and am intrigued as to where the story goes but also not sure if I want to continue. I will ponder it!
I wanted to like more because I really enjoyed the author's first book, The Deep Sky but this one just didn't really work for me. The premise was solid but the worldbuilding was a bit a mess and the characters felt a little flat. It also doesn't help that I've been rereading the Expanse series and that series does many of the same elements - interstellar gate travel, mysterious builders, a badass former solider - better in every way.
I think Ryan North should be allowed - or possibly - required to continue writing Lower Decks comics for all time. He gets the humor and loves Star Trek so the writing feels just like an episode.
This is an extremely clever choose your own adventure comic that is just perfect. All of the choices work so well and by the end it really does feel like you’ve watched and participated in the Lower Decks version of TNG’s “Cause and Effect!”
Not surprisingly, this was absolutely DEVASTATING. It was incredible - Higginbotham gives you so much information about the history of human space flight, engineering, and the astronauts' lives before you even get to the disaster. I cried a ton!
If you are interested in space, engineering, or just a fascinating story about human hubris and foibles, this is for you!
Dune is good! It's complicated because there are some parts that are so wild and I'll say it - bad! - like massive hatred of fat people, women don't really get to do much, weird racism, too much invented language to be accessible, strange abbreviations, but on the whole it is really compelling. And for a book written 60ish years ago it can be really readable!
