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Wants to read The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who
Rated The Stone Sky 10/10
This whole trilogy is just so excellent. Cannot recommend enough.
Rated The Torment of Others 7/10
<div>All right, I know I've read a lot of her books lately, so maybe that magnifies some of my quibbles due to repeated exposure, but this was only ok. Propulsive enough to invest me in the story, but 2004-era social politics chafe a bit, reading it 20 years later. I suppose it's less SWERF-y than it could be, given the time, but it's definitely not <em>not</em> that either. This was better than the previous 2 I read from her (different series, each), but it's not among her really good ones. I think Val and I need a little break so I can forget some of her less favorable quirks.</div>
Rated The War Master: Anti-Genesis 10/10
Loved this bit of the Master being a bit overambitious, even for him. Nice way to show how the Time War was basically a mess.
Rated The War Master: Future Phantoms 8/10
Rated Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe 10/10
Rated The Thing About Thugs 8/10
In some ways, the darker elements and seeing the killer's point-of-view reminded me of Patricia Highsmith's work, though she did not set any of her stories (that I know of) in Victorian times. The methodical way everyone justifies their bad behavior, killer or not, is also very much like her. The difference is that Khair doesn't write with underlying disdain for society. There is still an element of magic, though not the fantastical kind. It's magic in the form of hope, the willful suspension of disbelief, and the transforming power of a good story. I certainly recommend tracking down this book.<br><br>(My full review appears on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-thing-about-thugs-by-tabish-khair.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Rated The Trees 9/10
<div>A near-perfect collection of short stories in a pleasingly compact package. There were so many instances where I thought, "Wow, what a sentence!" that I'm glad that the translator, Robin Myers, also gets proper billing on the cover. I have not seen this work in its original Spanish, nor is my Spanish good enough to where I could fluently read it, but I know that translation is its own work of art.<br><br>These short stories are full of beautiful descriptions, human difficulty, and a different way of looking at the stories of the natural world. I definitely recommend it.</div>
Rated The Underworld 8/10
Very much enjoyed this, probably more so because it is a stretch of road with which I am familiar. A book full of grieving, realistically messy people (though the book is not one I'd call a tearjerker at all), doing the best they can, even when the best they can might be a poor decision anyway.
Wants to read The Universe of Us (Volume 4)
Rated The Vital Abyss 7/10
<div>Some interesting supplemental material.</div>
Rated The War Master: Escape from Reality 10/10
<div>The Master causing problems with fictional characters we already know? Yes of course this is a good time.</div>
Rated The War Master: Rage of the Time Lords 8/10
Poor Eighth Doctor. His brain is like a shredded sponge with all this memory mischief, ha. But this was good.
Rated Three Bags Full 8/10
<div>I heard about this book via Bluesky, maybe a year or so before the movie came out, but I didn't know it came out in 2005 originally! My library hold was very long until they recently got more copies.<br><br>Anyway, I enjoyed this unusual way of approaching a murder mystery story, and the sheep definitely still seemed like sheep, and not very human brains inside sheep bodies. I wouldn't necessarily call this a "cozy" mystery, but it's not grimdark either, and actually, there are a lot of funny parts. Glad I got to it. </div>
Rated The Wire in the Blood 8/10
<div>A few plot points were a little convenient, but this was a good one. A lot more gross, details-wise, than some of her others. Maybe that's just how this particular series is though, which is fine.</div>
Rated The World We Make 10/10
<div>A really excellent conclusion to this story of living cities, though the ending leaves just enough wiggle room for another story, should NK Jemisin decide to come back to this universe. I always enjoy how inventive and detailed she is with her world-building, but never at the expense of character. I'll read anything by her.</div>