Format: Hardcover

This one of those rare books that made me think “how does someone come up with this?” The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a difficult book to describe or categorize due to how many different elements and themes it incorporates, but one thing that is easy to summarize is how ambitious and beautiful V. E. Schwab’s writing is. And by that I don’t mean flowery lyrical language or awe inspiring visuals (which the book does feature at times), but by its poignant pondering and wistfully quiet tone coupled with incredible portrayals of emotions. This is all on top of a wildly creative premise that takes the common plot of an immortal person and devil deal and runs in a completely new direction. I will attempt to review just why I found this book to be brilliant in execution shortly (i personally was in awe of the book despite not necessarily being emotionally attached to it like many other readers were), but know that this is easily one of the most impressive and critically strong books I’ve read since getting back into reading. I initially had mild reservations about the premise on paper considering it vaguely sounded like some other…

Easily one of the most creative and whimsical novels I’ve read in many years. Simon Stephenson’s Set My Heart to Five is a thoughtful (and occasionally edgy) commentary on human behavior and societal culture wrapped up in a seemingly light-hearted, meandering AI bot adventure. Despite being compared to Vonnegut’s ideologies and writing, the book’s content reminded me a lot of Daniel Keye’s Flowers for Algernon (which is one of my all-time favorite novels) in which both stories feature an innocuous narrator who does not understand the complexities of human behavior and terrible people around them. Set My Heart to Five’s premise of an AI bot developing feelings admittedly isn’t new territory, but the style of delivery and humorously dry character voice puts it in an entirely new area. First and foremost, Set My Heart to Five is not going to be for everyone, nor does Stephenson make an attempt to be mass-appealing. Jared’s character voice is somehow both frank and dry, yet also entirely comical in a witty, dark humor kind of way; you know that one friend who always talks about the unspoken elephant in the room that’s not socially acceptable, yeah that’s Jared. Full of fun wordplays and…

The House in the Cerulean Sea has a plot, genre and tone that ordinarily isn’t quite my taste, but T.J. Klune’s execution and lowkey sarcastic humor kept me going. Hopefully optimistic, sweet, and a very comfortable easy read, this is not my typical read but it’s still a novel I don’t regret picking up. The plot is predictable and some extended metaphors and social commentary are a bit on the nose (this has a tone and approach better suited for YA, apart from a few rare adult-natured jokes), but it’s unapologetically warm and has so much mass-appeal. Other reviews describing The House in the Cerulean Sea as a modern fairy tale are quite appropriate. The style of narration told from the perspective of the main character Linus Baker evokes that nostalgic fairy tale feel that’s felt through Klune’s descriptive visuals and dialogue (the house for example screams fantasy fairy tale aesthetic, including the gorgeous interpretation on the cover). While reading this, I could instantly see this being adapted as either an animated or live-action miniseries. Linus Baker is a refreshing, atypical main character aged 40, overweight, uptight, queer, no frills government worker who serves as the perfect foil to the…

I wrote in my review of Morning Star that Pierce Brown had a monumental task then to conclude the staggering uprising premise introduced in his original trilogy in a decisive and satisfying manner. Perhaps an even bigger challenge is to build on the original trilogy’s work and segue the series into its next arc; rebuilding and running a society after it was torn down. As such, Iron Gold had dual purposes to transition the series to a new direction as well as recapture the page-turning intensity that made the first three novels impossible to put down. I consider Iron Gold a resounding success at the former by somehow expanding the solar system society further and using many clever strategies to jumpstart new plot threads. When it comes to the latter however, I found Iron Gold to be competently solid but a bit touch and go with its pacing and reader interest. I was initially hesitant when I started reading Iron Gold, expecting an extended lull and flood of information dumping to bridge the ten years that pass between Morning Star and Iron Gold. I also expected Darrow to experience a shift in priorities or mindset, similar to the beginning of…

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…