Jefferz

The Ministry of Time is an ambitious, creative, and wonderful blend of different genres that could’ve easily ended up as a convoluted misfire if not for Kaliane Bradley’s thoughtful and carefully executed prowess with the various elements involved. Despite the obvious science fiction time-traveling elements, when you strip the story of its otherworldly themes, The Ministry of Time feels like a straight contemporary fiction drama novel that heavily explores the immigrant experience and assimilating into the Western English lifestyle. The five individuals pulled into the 21st century across time is a clear metaphor for the immigrant experience. TLDR, you do not have to be a fan of science fiction to enjoy this book. On a more basic level, The Ministry of Time was a homerun for me with a tone and sophistication I’ve been severely missing in most recent trending booktok novels (not that I would consider this one booktok’s norm). Right from its synopsis, the summary highlights its genre-bending elements well. The Ministry of Time is 100% part historical Fiction due to Commander Graham Gore being a real-life figure who was deemed lost as part of John Franklin’s Lost and tragic 1845 expedition to the arctic. Familiarity with the…

Reading and now reviewing Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir felt like one of the greatest tests of my patience as a reader and my ability to separate the book’s objective and subjective strengths/weaknesses. The writing style and presentation resulted in one of my least favorite reading experiences of the last year and would rightfully deserve a 1-star rating if not for the book’s concept and attention to probable scientific theories. I’ve since learned a lot of my distaste for Project Hail Mary is mostly due to Andy Weir’s signature (or potentially infamous) writing style, with only the following character-related items being Project Hail Mary-specific points. However, after taking some time to review the material after finishing the book, I can appreciate some of its strong technical qualities that no doubt contributed to its popularity and nomination for a 2022 Hugo Award. I was not previously familiar with Andy Weir’s past novels and had only seen short clips of the theatrical adaptation of The Martian, however what was immediately obvious is Weir’s strength for writing geeky science reactions and creative sci-fi concepts. The premise’s catastrophic phenomenon and its implications for life on Earth is not only creative, but also fascinating…

Reading Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series is usually a good, but often mildly frustrating time for me as they’re decently fun reads that are so close to being excellent. Book number three, Whispers Under Ground, is unquestionably the most tonally consistent and focused story so far that improves upon all my biggest criticisms of the previous installments. While Midnight Riot/Rivers of London (I’ll be referring to book 1 as Midnight Riot for consistency) and Moon Over Soho suffered from overly loose, meandering plots that attempted to weave together two separate cases, Whispers Under Ground smartly focuses on just one case and allows its dry, tongue-in-cheek British style to be front and center. Despite the improvements across the board, unfortunately I found the core mystery investigation to suffer from inconsistent pacing yet again and the culprit/reveal to be rather random which holds this back from a higher rating. Each novel in the series so far has had an underlying theme that’s tied to the magical crime case and some type of fantasy element/being; Midnight Riot was themed to the theatre while Moon Over Soho was heavily Jazz-focused. Whispers Under London’s thematic flair is the visual fine arts (though one could…

Picked up on a blind Goodreads algorithm suggestion (dangerous choice, I know), I had no expectations or experience going into Robert Charles Wilson’s Spin. Obviously I assumed it would be at least competently plotted with a high-concept as the coveted 2006 Hugo Award winner for best novel. What I did not expect and was pleasantly surprised by was the highly restrained, nuanced, yet incredibly character work that carried me all through Spin. This is notable particularly when some of the science-fiction elements, pardon the bad pun, occasionally spun a bit out of control. A 4.5 rounded up, this rating is not necessarily a rating for a fun or entertaining time, but for a rating that respects the quality of the writing and the execution of the story. Some of my 5-star reads are entertaining or a thrill ride to read; Spin is slower and smart one that I know will stick with me for a while. The main plot of Spin asks the age-old question, what happens when a potentially catastrophic, maybe even apocalyptic event occurs? When faced with possibility that the end of the world is ending, how do people react and grapple with their impending death? (a possibility…

One part dystopian speculative science fiction, one part social commentary on systemic racism and the flawed American prison system, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s Chain-Gang All-Stars is an ambitious narrative that attempts to cover a lot of ground in <400 pages. Despite the book’s summary focusing on Loretta Thurwar and her survival with her partner and fellow chain member Hamara Staxxx, Chain-Gang All-Star reads more like a collection of short stories. Loretta and Hamara’s narrative only make up about 1/3 of the book’s content, the rest is devoted to over a dozen different characters and various perspectives covering the CAPE program. These perspectives include those of program participants, show producers, host and commentators, prison staff, abolitionist protestors, viewers, etc. The large scope of these various characters and the ambition behind Adjei-Brenyah’s commentary is ambitious and is well-designed to spark open conversations about topics in the book. Despite the great intention and ambition behind its pages, unfortunately I found the actual novel/story portion of the book to be disjointed and difficult to get into. For me, Chain-Gang All-Stars is at its best when it focused on Thurwar and Staxxx’s experiences which are compelling and interesting. The character psyche and gray morality of various…