hydecircus's reviews
53 reviews

All Tomorrows: A billion year chronicle of the myriad species and varying fortunes of Man by C.M. Kösemen, Nemo Ramjet

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

This isn't a horror story, although body horror is certainly present, but something about it feels like it is. Or maybe it's just me -- stuck inside a human body imagining the body shifting and changing into one of the detailed and grotesque illustrations within the text. This book takes place over billions of years, there is no one character or mind we are stuck in, we never feel their personal jolts of terror at how the very nature of their species has shifted. They don't feel that terror, because they themselves are not changing. Evolution takes place over millions of years. An ape does not fear becoming a man, because it will live and die an ape, and it's great-great-great-etc grandchildren will simply awaken as a man, having never been anything else. But I still found myself afraid. I think speculative evolution is easy when you imagine what it would take for a species to become more human (what kind of a society would intelligent avians have? How would aquatic species communicate or adapt for speech?) but difficult when you are forced to confront humans becoming more animal.

Content Warnings

Prokaryote Season by Leo Fox

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

absolutely gorgeous art and wonderful story that's both genuinely sincerely emotional and deeply deeply funny.

The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr

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emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

not my usual thing at all but im so glad i picked this book up on a whim- absolutely a treasure. baxter is a lead impossible not to root for, if anything i just wish the book had followed him a little bit longer, or flashed forward a couple years so i could see hes alright. at least i hope he gets a good rest after all that.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

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emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

they were so mean to her:-(

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

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adventurous tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I wanted to like this book so bad and I'm so disappointed that I didn't. I honestly found it very boring and despite the subject matter (which was undeniably fascinating) I didn't really care about anything that happened. I'm still undecided as to whether I'll continue the series or not, especially considering the last third of the book was easily the best.

Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced