planet_taffy's reviews
26 reviews

An overly long book that would have been better handled as three separate books with proper start, middles, and ends; the plots do NOT intertwine as advertised on the back cover but are simply paired with a fourth overarching plot. The writer uses H.G. Wells like a strange puppet, going so far as to describe him inaccurately as "bird-faced" (a spot on descriptor of the author); Wells is given indepth characterization that's incongruent with the actions of the man in his life time, especially a broad disregard for women (a trait shared with all other men in the book).

The pacing of the book is better describes as "distracted": we're given an indepth retelling of Wells' life where his mother and mother-in-law have been rewritten as the chief villains, a full rundown on the plot of the Time Machine devoid of all nuance, and several other long asides that feel more like an excuse to bump up the word count. The book could have been good if not weighed down by extra padding and hamstrung by Palma's inability to write women casting them as either vapid & stupid, evil harpies, or dead; he even goes so far to describe them all the same with "lily-white hands", off putting noses, and "delicate bodies".

If you're looking to read the book (which is broken into three parts) Part 1 makes a fine standalone story. Part 3 contains

everything promised on the back cover in the last 100 pages

. Part 2 is unreadable due to inconsistent characterization; neither character is likeable or frankly understandable. The first few paragraphs of Map of the Sky, included in the back of my copy, explain my feelings precisely: this book is an unwanted sequel to H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine" that piggybacks off of both names to draw unsuspecting readers in.

The one star is for the uniqueness of

the Reed People (as an allusion to the Eloi) and the depiction of the Fourth Dimenson

, though I'm still unsure if those were Palma's original ideas.

An all around delightful book that reads more like long-form poetry bustling with facts. Each chapter focuses on a single planet and it's history of discovery with a unique spin (from references of UFOs to discussions of astrology and music). This book requires no knowledge base thanks to ample footnotes and a glossary, so it's a fun read even if you have only a passing knowledge of our solar system. It's a wonderful snapshot of space history told by a woman born before the launch of sa ellites to observe the planets and taking us up through only 2005.

I love it to bits and look forward to reading it again in the future.

True to the early pages of the book, "Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone" is a modern mystery following the pattern of Golden Age classics so if you grew up with Nancy Drew or Agatha Christie it has a somewhat nostalgic feel. The narrator--who is writing this book about his own experiences--sometimes comes off as smarmy and a know-it-all when he uses his meta knowledge to tell you about events just before they happen; thankfully, he backs off before it gets really annoying and his use of meta knowledge becomes a charming quirk of the writing.

I have some complaints about the reveal at the end of the book, where all the clues come together in classic detective novel fashion. Despite priming us by insisting he won't break the Commandments at the front of the book

the author clearly breaks Rule 4 with the use of microdots which are never well explained making every revelation involving them downright confusing; they easily could have been revealed sooner without jeopardizing the twist. Similarly he plays fast and loose with his responsibility as the Watson: telling the reader his thoughts as per Rule 9.

In short too much new information was revealed making it impossible for readers to solve as they go along, which makes the prologue's instances that he won't lie nor break the Commandments of Detective Fiction kind of a waste of type and the reader's good will. A good mystery never needs to pull a fast one on the reader.

The setting is fun, the slow reveal of how each family member embodies the title is exciting, and the inferred moral derived from which family members count towards the title's claim (who does "My Family" include) is a charming theme that is well explored.

The book starts with an intellectual parlor conversation which reminds me of several books from the same time period in a positive way. Wells speaks through the narrator, positing his own thoughts about time travel; it's a little more like reading nonfiction in that early part of the book but the ideas presented are exciting. Just before the aided monologue gets boring, Wells switches focus to more action oriented storytelling that persists through the rest of the book. All in all, it has great balance.

There's so much you can glean from analyzing even the smallest of actions so it's a great book for a book club or group discussion.

A lovely, gritty book about the coming of age of the narrator. King did a great job emersing us in the setting so you could almost hear and feel the hot summer days the story takes place across. Sometimes the characters' actions seem too old for our thirteen year old protagonists but it's about a time and boyhood I did not experience growing up so I give it a pass. The resolution of the titular body was a little disappoint but fit the themes well.

I really loved the part where we got treated to the narrator's own writing; seeing how his experiences that summer reflected in his college writing and then judged by his current self was an interesting extra level to the story.

I found the book to be rather barebones and full of nonsensical descriptions. Khaw strings pretty words together into sentences that don't make much sense and require a second pass to digest. Despite being a central focus of the story, very little is known about the characters' backgrounds or the history of their friend group; when you read the book, you'll understand why that's insane information to be lacking. All over the book feels half complete: we're missing internal thoughts, vital information on past events, and a plausible explination as to why any of them agreed to go on this trip together. I'd love to see a revised version of the book in the future as it has a beautiful skeleton: it just needs flesh and skin.

Note: if you hate vague descriptions of mental illness as much as I do, maybe give it a pass as it's unclear whether Cat's "terminal ennui" is meant to be depression, agoraphobia, a combo, or something else entirely. Clear language is never used.