Parable of the Sower was... something. it's a strong story, albeit harrowing and dark. it reminded me of The Walking Dead, but instead of zombie⭐ 3.75
Parable of the Sower was... something. it's a strong story, albeit harrowing and dark. it reminded me of The Walking Dead, but instead of zombies you have desparate people who face homelesness, drug addiction, and very hard living conditions. it's chaos. I can't say I particularly enjoyed the story - it's quite bleak. but I can definitely appreciate what Octavia E. Butler did here. the book felt very smart - it just felt like Butler was able to think of everything that might be necessary for survival in the cold cruel world; it surprised me. Parable of the Sower is told in a manner of a diary, from a POV of a very pragmatic young woman. the tone of the story is blunt and matter-of-fact; not much is left for the reader to figure out. I usually don't read that kind of books so it was nice for a change, but the tone also kept me from developing deep emotional bonds with the characters. thought the characters did feel strong, nuanced. the worldbuilding - meticulous and thorough.
overall, I appreciated Parable of the Sower, but it was a dark, sad read. please do check your trigger warnings before diving in. I will definitely be continuing with the series....more
"I am in my element, and my element is hydrogen burning in the heart of the sun!"
wow. I had a really good time with Scythe. I also had some iss⭐ 4
"I am in my element, and my element is hydrogen burning in the heart of the sun!"
wow. I had a really good time with Scythe. I also had some issues - characters fell a bit flat, it was somewhat predictable, and I thought it lacked nuance, especially when it came to the villains of the story - but it didn't stop the book from being a page-turner for me. it definitely reads YA, which I didn't know before getting into it. it may have stopped me, as I think I'm starting to fall out of love with with the genre (is YA a genre?), but I'm glad it didn't, because despite Scythe's shortcomings, I still had a really good time.
I have seen it being compared to Hunger Games, but I think it falls a bit short of that comparison. Scythe explores themes of justice, corruption, and what it means to be human, and in that sense it has a lot of overlap with Hunger Games, but I think it lacked certain depth and action, really. it's nonetheless a great YA novel, just not quite on the Hunger Games level I'd say.
"Rightmindedness is overrated," Goddard said. "I'd rather have a mind that's clear than one that's 'right.'"
it's also referred to as being dystopian, but I don't think it's quite accurate. it depicts a utopian world - so utopian, that no one dies anymore, and if they do, they're revived - and certain people are employed as scythes to keep the population in check (AKA kill humans). I think the idea of scythes is what supposedly makes it a dystopian novel (and perhaps the corruption that plagues the Scythedom), but it just didn't feel that way. people lead really good lives in this world, with them occasionally being killed (which happens in our real world anyway). that's kind of it. I think for it to truly feel dystopian, it needed to be a little bit more raw and dig a little deeper, which is, I'm guessing, beyond the scope of YA.
either way, can't wait to get to the next book!...more
I had some trouble with Red Rising. At the beginning I was struggling with the audiobook narrator, to whom I got used to after a while. The sto⭐️ 3.75
I had some trouble with Red Rising. At the beginning I was struggling with the audiobook narrator, to whom I got used to after a while. The story started off strong but I started to lose interest mid way. It was a bit disappointing - everyone was hyping Red Rising up for me SO bad, and upon reaching the middle section of the book I found that I just didn’t really care about the story, the characters, Darrow. I realised I don't quite like him, and the story was more fast paced than I’m used to, so I struggled keeping up with his motivations. I didn’t fully feel his character progression, and I couldn’t quite grasp how and why his thoughts and behaviours changed. It felt like sometimes the author just wanted Darrow to say something super smart and super badass, but I couldn’t understand why he suddenly comes to the conclusions that he does. so that was I think either part 2 or part 3 of the story.
Anyway, the story picked up from the ~70% mark, and I was totally down for whatever went from that point on. I realise some stage setting, albeit a little boring for me, was necessary for the reader’s emotional exprience....more
okay. I usually try to refrain from giving out ratings below 2 stars, mostly because I don't want to underrate a book that might have not have been⭐ 2
okay. I usually try to refrain from giving out ratings below 2 stars, mostly because I don't want to underrate a book that might have not have been written for me, despite me not particularly liking it. however. I had some personal issues with I Am Legend that made me actively dislike the main character, Robert Neville, and I almost DNF'd the book several times.
I'll preface this by saying that I know it's been written in 1954, so it could've been much worse, but c'mon, the bar is already on the ground. what I'm talking about is the misogyny and the brutality of man. Robert Neville, left all alone in the world and completely surrounded by vampires, can't keep his dick in his pants. just simply seeing a vampire woman - an outline of a breast through a shirt - instantly blueballs him. he's literally incel-coded. is it really an accurate response to an unimaginable disaster - wanting to f*ck every female out there - to the point where our main character considers gr*pe and necrophilia (oh, but she's a vampire, not really a human, so it doesn't count)? is this what men and women are being reduced to?
throughout the book I felt like Robert just saw women as a tool to satisfy his needs, both sexual and emotional. I won't go into much detail about it because I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but he views feminine traits and characteristics as something that annoys and frustrates him. in general, he views all living things as owing something to him, and that made me really dislike him. when bad things™ happened, I didn't care for him at all. also, of course he hydrates on whiskey only - what else is there for a man?
I understand that the book was meant as an exploration of humanity in a post-apocalyptic world, where survival means everything, so perhaps I missed the point. but Robert Neville came off as a very angry, misogynistic man, who I really struggled to relate to and care for. I stay the f*ck away from those kind of men in real life, and I'd very much like to stay away from them in books too. with peace and love.
I Am Legend felt like a drag in general. maybe because I felt detached from the main character? but it felt trice as long. not a good sign for a 162 page or a 5 hour audiobook. the narration was excellent tho. GJ Robertson Dean....more
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