Andrzej
A nice wrap-up to a trilogy. And only a tiny bit of fantasy silliness ;) I really enjoyed going through this one. Even though the world seemed a bit improbable with its one kingdom and kinda small size, the world building around and the way it was introduced to readers was really really good. I'll check the next books as well :)
4.5
I really liked this one. I think it may be also attributed to the quality of the audiobook I listened to (Graphic Audio Production). I liked how the suspense was kept there all the time without being ridiculous. The twists were smart and actually also surprising from time to time. Strong characters to which you can get really to like (or hate or decide for yourself). The only caveat maybe was how some characters were rescued or how one-dimensional was the Venture family head ;) 4.5 stars
2.5 *
Disappointing, but kinda captivating ;) Quite ridiculous plot with constant changes. It was a bit of a lazy writing and a poor suspense creation with the protagonist not saying who he is and lying to the reader to be the super smart Scooby-Doo like detective at the end. I kinda liked the theme though.
More of the same stuff as in the first book in the series. This time, though, it really got to me how male-centric this book is. There is no single first-order female character here. There is one sort of ‘love interest' of one of the consciousnesses of the main protagonist, and that's all. It is pretty sad. The author still is so deep in the pop-culture references it crosses the border of cringe by quite far (still, not quite the same level as Ready Player One or even the first book in this series).
Despite these two (and they are quite severe), the book is quite fun to read, with interesting problems faced by the hero(es).
I gave it only 2 stars, because, even though it is fun, it is kinda stale - almost nothing refreshing in comparison to the first book. Additionally, the gender issue plus playing on the millennial nostalgia is quite a lot to bear. Especially when this tries to be a bit more ‘hard' on the sci-fi, while in the same time being a light read.
Another book showing how corrupt and manipulative the Russian state led by FSB really is. This book tells the story of the last 3 weeks or so of Alexander Litvinienko's life. It does it in a really gripping and “MTV” style, which is both good, as the short stories and anecdotes with small cliffhangers make you keep reading and reading goes super easy. As well, as bad, as it seems a bit superficial at places. The story it tells is an important one and the case of Litvinienko and how it was exposed is crucial to understand nowadays Russia, however, this book completely forgets who Litvinienko was and where did he come from. It doesn't try to challenge anything, doesn't pose doubts, besides whether Putin is the supreme evil or absolute evil. I would really appreciate if this kind of literature would be a little bit less black and white. This would add to its credibility and voice talking about murderous regimes like Putin's.
Another in the guilt pleasure saga of wh40k novels ;) And yet another story of dudes in huge armors who are not the brightest ever, but think they are. This one was much better than the previous two books in horus heresy cycle. New protagonist, a different, more personal scale. I enjoyed it. I liked how from time to time the author tries to be self-aware. There was this dialogue of Garro with his ship captain where the captain just says that space marines are like teenagers ;) That was a pretty sweet touch. I already got used to the fact that everything here is super serious and everyone is a strategic mastermind, even though it seems like they are just simple dudes with their simplistic approach to life.
Again 4/5 in the guilty pleasure rating
Well, that was way worse than the previous one. I am maybe expecting too much from a book about teenager boy fantasies about a soldier, but these space marines here were portareyed as spoiled brats. Their motivations and emotions were really naively written. There were some good parts though. Other characters and Loken were pretty good, the story is fun, especially for a WH40K fan and its written in a way its easy to read. The last chapters were unfortunately a bit dragging and Horus' transformation was really not believable. This last thing is probably my biggest issue with the book, as that is the freaking turning and defining point of the whole wh40k universe. Somehow, i felt like the previous book was much better.
It's funny to see all these nerds writing books now. Yet another book just full of references to pop culture. On the other hand, this book (unlike, e.g., ready player one) feels better in terms of actual science (be it pop science or not). It feels sort of like a mix between two Stephenson's books - Fall and Seven eves. Just written in much lighter style. I enjoyed it quite a lot, and I am looking forward to the next books in the series :)
Ok, this is a pulp. But kinda fun for a book about semi immortal huge space marines. Unlike the next one in the series, doesnt climb such peaks of naivety and nicely focuses on more believable characters. I was positively surprised by this. Its not a sophisticated literature by any means though and will be mostly fun for people into wh40k.
3.5. Wziąć pod uwagę trzeba, że autora znam osobiście. Po pierwsze mam pozytywne odczucia odnośnie stylu Kamila. Wartki rytm, literackie opisy. Czasem, jak na samym początku książki, ociera się o manieryzm, ale jako ogół wychodzi obronną ręką. Sama książka, jesli chodzi o strukturę, to trochę taki Lubelski Ulisses pogrążony w oparach alkoholu, seksu i kryzysu wieku średniego. Może autor wziął sobie do serca bliskość nazw miast. W każdym razie tu strumień świadomości sprowadza się raczej do poprzepalatanych ze soba wspomnień. Mam dwie rzeczy, do których mógłbym się czepić. Miałem wrażenie, ze pomimo, iż historie opowiadane są przez różne osoby, to opowiadane są tak samo. Jeśli to wybieg artystyczny i to sam bohater jest tymi opowiadaczami w różnych momentach życia, to trochę tego nie kupiłem. Drugs rzecz, to, ze w zasadzie nie wiem o czym to wszystko było. O wszystkim i o niczym. O Lublinie, o związkach, o samotności, o alkoholu, o gubieniu się. Ale czasen brakowało jakiejś iskry w tym wszystkim.
Podsumowując, pomimo tych kilku zgrzytów, spędziłem z ta książką dobry czas. Miałem dobrą zabawe odszukując naszych wspólnych znajomych lub historie w przypowieściach Kamila.
Wow, what a book. This was probably the hardest thing to read for me in a long time. The detailed texts about famine times and testimonies from this period in Ukraine were totally nerve-racking. But Applebaum is not only doing this to shock and give readers emotional reaction. She shows perfectly the context of the times, Soviet Union and their internal politics. Her explanation about USSR motivation behind this is quite shocking, and I am not 100% sure I take it for granted. However, it makes total sense. At least for an outside observer.
This book is even more crucial right now, in the times of Russian invasion on Ukraine. Shows the long-lasting conflict there and Russia's geopolitical agenda towards Ukraine and its people.
I think this is the first book by Tokarczuk i read. I like the language she uses and the structure of the book with short stories that create closed loops. However, I have hard times with the content and, specifically, the topic of human bodies and their preparation. I'm not sure what does it has to do with the book's title. Maybe cause the title seems to be the title of one of the stories and connects to a couple of others.
What a gem! A fantastic dive into creativity and really on how to make your work fun. I really enjoyed the book, even though some parts are a bit worse than others. Especially the part when Feynman talks about his Las Vegas nightclubs adventures seems rather unnecessary. But I get, that he had this need for creating myths about himself, and it's a part of his legend.
Personally, I got a couple of important lessons about the importance of playing and tinkering with stuff you do in order to get satisfaction from life. It is hilarious, when reading something makes you start understanding things which you thought were obvious, but never really came to you.
That was my try for war novels written in cloak and dagger style. Or at least i think that's how this type of literature looks like. This one was pretty well written, although sometimes pretty silly and naive. Especially the main protagonist and antagonist were kinda wtf characters. A quite fun read though.
Chyba najciekawsza biografia stworzona przez polskiego autora, jaką dotąd przeczytałem. Szczególnie interesująca, ze względu na to, że autor nie tylko przytacza jakieś suche fakty z życia Kopernika, ale rysuje obraz kontekstu historycznego i kulturowego, w którym on żył. Pokazuje nam, jak wiele mechanizmów zadziałało, aby ktoś taki jak MK mógł zaistnieć. Jest tu dość dużo spekulacji, ale przez to, że wiele informacji nie zachowało się do teraźniejszości, nie brzmią one jak kompletne zmyślanie. Dywagacje w stylu „co by było, gdyby” uważam za lekkie i ogólnie ciekawe łączenie kontekstu historycznego z tym, co wiemy, że nastąpiło później. Traktowałem je raczej jako lekkie przerywniki i sposób autora na zabawę z czytelnikiem. Jedną gwiazdkę odjąłem za jednak trochę nużąca część o rozgrywkach kościelnych w drugiej połowie książki.
Nie wiem skad ten tytul. Może taki clickbait. Generalnie zbior reportazy beż wiekszej mysli przewodniej. Niektore sa dziwne, jak ten o gejach chrzescijanach. Inne wydaje sie, ze maja szokowac i poruszac a autorka epatuje w nich naturalistycznymi opisami zbrodni w detalach. A jeszcze inne sa nie wiadomo po co, jak pierwszy o Violetcie Villas. Ogolnie poziom jest bardzo nierowny i 3 gwiazdki sa moze nawet troche na wyrost, za opowiadanie o rzeczach jednak waznych. Sama forma i narzucanie punktu widzenia juz nie sa tak dobre.
Great book showing the misery of Bolivian people living from and around mining. The author vividly draws the context of how a country, incredibly rich in natural resources, suffers from that richness. History of Bolivia is basically history of different entities exploiting its people. First the Spanish, then the American and finally the local ‘oligarchs' for a lack of better term. This all gets into the personal context of the tragedy of miners who die extremely young and live in conditions of unsure future. Life without basic protection from the state or employers. Life in existential stress, which in turn make those miners abuse the people around them. It's a really sad testament to human exploitation in the name of riches for few. The author in the epilogue gives a spark of hope, showing that there are people who keep fighting and trying to change this state, although that spark is pale in comparison to all the gloom.
I'd say 3.5. The idea around the book is excellent. The other type of storytelling is also refreshing. However, many things were quite weird for me. For example, the three body game - where is the game part in it? The ‘player' was only a spectator in it. It was puzzling to me that he was apparently very good in it without doing a thing ;)
In general, I think the book has really good ideas, but mediocre execution with writing. The characters are slightly too procedural and dry. Maybe that is a cultural issue, and I am just not used to it. However, it was not a slog and reading was quite enjoyable.
