violetturtledove's reviews
392 reviews

The Life and Times of Francie Nichol of South Shields by Joe Robinson

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informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

A good, plain-spoken personal history. It avoids feeling either tragic or falsely nostalgic, it's just a record of things as they happened. That's not to say it's without feeling, it's touching but without being overly sentimental. 
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

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funny lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This definitely had it's funny moments but it also dragged in some places - for instance when it pokes fun of the repetitive, rambling style of the legends by... telling the story in that style. It works as satire but isn't the most enjoyable part to read. 
It was sometimes difficult to tell who was being poked fun at, the medieval English or the 'modern' American - both were rather ridiculous at times!
On the whole it was fun but I didn't find it particularly engaging. 
I Shudder at Your Touch by Michele Slung

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Anthologies are always a bit of a risk, and to be honest I picked this up in a charity shop expecting it to be pretty cheesy. But it's a good selection, a few outstanding stories, a few I wasn't overly impressed with but no real duds. There's a good variety, but it still manages to stick to the theme and have a consistent feel. 
Putting Myself in the Picture by Jo Spence

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This is a fairly interesting book and hard to define. There's a little of the traditional memoir to it but it mainly focuses on ethical,  political, philosophical and psychological questions related to the practice of photography. There are some really interesting ideas explored around class,  feminism, healthcare and authority,  the sense of self and image, and how photography can be a tool for shaping the world rather than just capturing it 'as it is'. 
It's quite academic in places, but not too technical (the social aspects of photographing others are discussed rather than camera settings).
There's lots to think about here. Jo had an idea of the things that could be done if photography became something all people did for themselves rather than relying on the media. And now pretty much everyone has a camera in their pocket at all times. But what would she make of the way we use them?
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I'm feeling quite lost for words upon finishing this, because I don't know how to describe it without using cheesy phrases like 'a must-read' or 'mind-blowing'. It's really comprehensive, well-written and thought-provoking. The subject matter is deep and covers so much but it never feels heavy or dry. It was both eye-opening and very enjoyable to read, and I highly recommend it.
Body Shocks by Alyssa Wong, Kaaron Warren, Pat Cadigan, Angela Slatter, Brian Evenson, Cassandra Khaw, Kirstyn McDermott, Richard Kadrey, Edward Bryant, Lucy Taylor, Tananarive Due, Kij Johnson, Seanan McGuire, Carmen Maria Machado, Gemma Files, Nathan Ballingrud, Simon Bestwick, Lisa L. Hannett, Priya Sharma, Livia Llewellyn, Richard Christian Matheson, Genevieve Valentine, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Michael Blumlein, Ray Cluley, Cody Goodfellow, Tom Johnstone, Terry Dowling, Ellen Datlow, Christopher Fowler

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Short story collections are tricky because there's so much I could say about the individual stories. I think pretty much any gross and weird thing that can happen to a body is here - shapeshifting, surgery, mutations, fungal infections, tortures, murders. It's all covered, and from a range of genres apart from horror: sci-fi, fantasy, crime.. some will make you laugh (if you have a bit of a twisted sense of humour that is) and there's even a quite sweet love story. 
I love making lists and when I encounter a story by an author I've never read before and particularly enjoy it, that author goes on my list of 'authors to read more of'. Pretty much every contributor to this book has gone on the list.
We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memoir by Raja Shehadeh

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informative reflective slow-paced
I often feel strange trying to 'rate' a memoir. It seems weird to take someone's actual experiences and judge them as entertainment. So all I'll say for this one is it was very educational for me and gave me a lot to think about. I find it hard to get my head around some of the political and legal aspects but that's ok, obviously they're a huge part of the story and it's such a complex subject. But the personal history and reflections are something I can connect to and through them I've at least gained a little more understanding.
For Love of Evil by Piers Anthony

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lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Considering that the series is 'Incarnations of Immortality' and the characters can be from any time period, I'm surprised it's taken this long to have a story that starts before the twentieth century. At least that way the outdated morals can make some sort of sense. 'The inquisition was actually good at first' is still a hell of a take though. 

There are plenty of stories, and plenty of authors, that can make Satan a sympathetic,  nuanced character. This is not one of those stories, or the author to do it. The main character has lustful thoughts and so from then on it's a sheer drop into total evil. Except he's not really 'evil', just a bit of a dick really. Basically it's a mess. It's an entertaining mess at points, and yes I'm still going to continue to read but I'm going to continue to complain too. There are some interesting points later on regarding the necessity of Evil for the greater good, the place of other religions in this mostly Christian framework, an absent God ruling a dull Heaven, etc. A lot of the events of the previous books are revisited, and it's a strange mix of excusing Satan for his bad behaviour (he thinks his ends justify his means) and also trying to make sure he's still bad enough to be Satan and it just never quite gets the balance right. There are two main global catastrophes orchestrated by Satan because 'evil' but then he stops them because... people are suffering?
But by this point I suspect many readers will have lost interest. I'm continuing through sheer bloody-mindedness, and the occasional bit of cheesy hilarity like "Beelzebub, stop the plague".
There's an ongoing point in these books about the unfairness of the world, mainly on the definitions of 'sin' and the judging of souls. There's been some talk right from the start of 'fixing things' but so far no one has really done anything about it and I'm not getting my hopes up for the last book.  However, the alternative is that the author has created an alternate history, with a fantasy afterlife, and established that within this world,  babies can be tainted by the sins of their parents, only to go 'well it sucks but what can you do?'
The Ritual by Adam L.G. Nevill

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This had me absolutely gripped the whole way through.  It's a great mix of Scandinavian folklore and survival horror, with a good dash of 'spooky cabin in the woods'. I only felt really creeped out in the earlier chapters, but this is not faint praise as its a feeling I rarely get at all from books. By the time the creepiness faded for me,  the tension was already high and it did not let up for the rest of the story. There's also a good amount of visceral horror so fans of gore will not be disappointed. 
The characters were well fleshed out, if not particularly likeable, and by the end you certainly sympathise with the main character despite his faults.
It ends well too, there's enough left for the reader to think on without anything being left glaringly unanswered. This is the first book I've read by this author and I will definitely be reading more.
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Ziggyology: A Brief History Of Ziggy Stardust by Simon Goddard

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funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I own and have read a fair few books on Bowie, but this is really like no other Bowie book. It's not a casual fans introduction,  more one for the Bowie fan who has read everything else. 
It's original and with a huge scope - earlier chapters start with the big bang and work through such varied topics as feudal Japan, classical music, science, literature, war ... basically everything that happened in the world with the slightest bearing on the creation of Ziggy Stardust.
It's told in a very descriptive, almost poetic style, capturing the magic and glamour of the subject. It does take a certain amount of creative license with describing how certain things played out/ what people were thinking,  but it is really well done. 
As well as influences on Ziggy, the author makes sure to note those he influenced, although its not always immediately obvious who he's talking about (a snaggle-toothed boy called John, or the daughter of a Mr Ciccone). There are also some hilarious descriptions of other musicians - Herman's Hermits as 'a Lancashire hot-pot of guitars and teeth' or Tyrannosaurus Rex as sounding like 'a Hare Krishna playing nursery rhymes on a ukulele being pursued by a frantically clopping pantomime horse'.
So it's a quite unusual take, but quite fitting,  and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There's also a very thorough reference section at the end.