matteo_of_eld's reviews
194 reviews

He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters

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adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Not quite as good as the previous 2 entries, but the ending does wonders to make up for it.
Curriculum of the Basic Principles of Marxism-Leninism Part 1: The Worldview and Philosophical Methodology of Marxism-Leninism by Luna Nguyen, Taimur Rahman, Vijay Prashad

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challenging hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

Religion and the Rise of Capitalism by Benjamin M. Friedman

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informative slow-paced

3.0

This book is extremely mid but is also valuable as a history of Protestantism and Conservativism in the US as Capitalism coalesced into the world-wide nightmare it is. My biggest beeves here are that this author, like most pro-capitalist economists, seems incapable with engaging with material reality (though to his credit i think he genuinely believes in capitalism as "good" ideology unlike the scum from the Chicago school); and he barely engages with his own thesis in even an academic way.
The Constant Gardener by John le Carré

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challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age by Stephen R. Platt

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dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Endymion by Dan Simmons

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History by Tonio Andrade

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adventurous challenging informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian

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

4.0

The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze

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informative slow-paced

4.0

Very dry, and sometimes its very clear that this is an unadorned translation (odd syntax, repeated use of the same descriptors in a short period, etc.) Its nature as a very broad overview also makes it perhaps less informative than what I was looking for. I would have given this 3 stars except that the goal of the book is also to draw lines between the Napoleonic Wars specifically in Europe to the events in the rest of the world in a way most other histories of the time period do not. It also presents a much more nuanced view on Napoleon as a politician and attempts to undermine some common myths and legends about "Allied" performance. For this, I will bump it to 4 stars.
The Falcon at the Portal by Elizabeth Peters

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

I cannot believe how SAD this one is. The first few of the Amelia Peabody series are solid, likeable, 3-to-4-stars books (and obviously I've favored 4 stars) but starting with "The Ape Who Guards the Balance" there has been a real shift in the tone and characterization here that has packed a real wallop. Its as if Peters needed those first 9 to really establish her characters- and honestly she maybe needed that time to fully herself realize the juicy web she could weave with them that is eminently more interesting than the murder mysteries that ostensibly underpin the series. Of course, it helps that all the players are now fully fledged adults, and some of the best meat here, as in Ape, is when Emerson and Amelia grapple with the skill and talent of their now-adult children (and likewise when Rameses, David, and Nefret grapple with the same thing!) I hope this trend continues, both Ape and Falcon are fantastic books, with real pathos and tragedy mixed in to the jokes.

EDIT: Reading some of these other reviews... y'all really hate Nefret huh? Couldn't be me. I think she's great and any problems you might have with her you should surely also have with Rameses or Emerson or even Amelia? No? Hmm, maybe check that misogyny lmfao.