Wild Woila reviewed The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Lost boys with wild schemes
3 stars
A road trip novel where the desire for a fresh start gets hijacked by lost boys with wild schemes. Fairly enjoyable. Tragicomic.
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I have #mecfs so I have a lot of time for reading, mostly #fantasy and #SciFi but I'm happy to dip into nearly anything.
Ratings: 1 star: I didn't like it 2 stars: it was okay 3 stars: I liked it 4 stars: I really liked it 5 stars: it was brilliant
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Wild Woila's books
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Wild Woila wants to read The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick (Rook & Rose, #1)
The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick (Rook & Rose, #1)
Fortune favors the bold. Magic favors the liars.
Ren is a con artist who has come to the sparkling city …
Wild Woila wants to read System Collapse by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #7)
System Collapse by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #7)
Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.
Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation …
Wild Woila wants to read Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie (Imperial Radch, #3)
Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie (Imperial Radch, #3)
For just a moment, things seem to be under control for the soldier known as Breq.
Then a search of …
Wild Woila wants to read The Vela: a novel by Becky Chambers
The Vela: a novel by Becky Chambers, Yoon Ha Lee, Rivers Solomon, and 1 other
In the fading light of a dying star, a soldier for hire searches for a missing refugee ship and uncovers …
Wild Woila wants to read The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground …
Wild Woila
boosted
Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American …
80s nostalgia with a clever concept, but weak narrative
3 stars
Overall this was a fun read. The world itself is quite dystopian, but the OASIS is incredible. It feels like a very natural evolution of today's online society, for better or worse. Some of the plot can feel a little sluggish with the exposition and the slowdown in the second arc of the book, but it has a good payoff at the end. The characters are OK, but not developed as well as the focus is almost solely on the main character Parzival and his obsession with the 80s, the hunt, and Art3mis. I think the concept behind this (and the nostalgia) was pretty good, though the narrative could have been better, both in terms of characters and plot.
For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2024/05/book-review-ready-player-one-by-ernest.html
Wild Woila reviewed Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
1 New York Times Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings us deeper into the Cosmere universe …
Fresh & joyful
4 stars
A girl with guts goes off to rescue her one true love, finding a crew of supportive friends along the way. Crazy setting with magic spores. Author let his hair down and it feels fresh & joyful.
Wild Woila reviewed Millefiori by Omar Musa
Poetry with a hiphop steetwise feel
3 stars
Poetry with a hiphop steetwise feel. On prejudice, a broken world, and lost love. A few were great, but a bunch missed me.
'We know that the world is a horror story, but we also know it's got love notes at the margins.'
Reading time 5 days, 20 pages/day
Wild Woila reviewed The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
A number-one New York Times bestseller when it was originally published, The Silmarillion is the …
Partly biblically dull, partly high drama
3 stars
Biblically dull in parts, making for a perfect sleep story. But some chapters were great standalone stories full of action & high drama. Otherwise, only for world-building nerds.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ-yRQ8_dw8&list=PLp6dwtXsi8Ps6A3vWuaOA9JFOULn-WLzI&index=3&pp=iAQB
Wild Woila reviewed Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, …
Excellently creepy
4 stars
A girl is trapped in a mirror world inhabited by doppelgangers with black buttons for eyes. Can she escape becoming a meal for its architect? Creepy! But excellent. Too much tension for a sleep story.
Wild Woila
boosted
steampunkLemur reviewed Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers (Monk & Robot, #2)
After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) …
Beautiful book. I am amazed at Becky Chamber's magic abilities.
5 stars
Content warning General spoilers
When I finished the first book I wondered why, being the two books so short, were they not just a single book. After finishing the second book I understand.
The second part of the Monk and Robot books is a completely different story. The apparition of Mosscap changes everything, and what was a book centered on Dex and their relationship with the world in Panga transforms into an exploration of the relationship between the monk and the robot.
Cozy as the first book, but slow in a good way. Just like the travelers in it, we have no rush to finish it. There's no big buildup to anything, and that amazes me. Like the first book, the author manages to create an engaging story without resorting to common narrative tools. It makes the book someone who's just sitting on your bedside table telling you "I'm here if you want to cuddle". The feel-good transcends the story and permeates into your everyday life, your imagination, and the things you think are possible.
The theme of purpose in this book made me shed a tear, even while on antidepressants. People telling me it's okay to just be me, I don't listen to them. But if a rusty robot says that to a monk and I'm just eavesdropping, you will be certain that I will heed the robot. And believe that it is ok to just be.
Wild Woila reviewed A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers (Monk & Robot, #2)
After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) …
Soulfully therapeutic
5 stars
To be, together, and for each other, is enough. Soulfully therapeutic. Mosscap is gorgeous, charmingly thrilled with the world: 'my very own satchel!'
Reading time 3 days, 50 pages/day
Wild Woila reviewed The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath …
The massive burden of trauma
4 stars
Trauma is a major unrecognised public health issue. Talk therapy and drugs are not effective; emotional & social engagement has to be revived. Not as useful as I hoped for my own issues, but neurofeedback and EMDR are intriguing.
Reading time 24 days, 18 pages/day
Wild Woila reviewed Unbranded by Herb Wharton (UQP Black Australian writers)
Simple but evocative
3 stars
Fictionalised autobiography of an Aboriginal stockman in the pastoral outback. Despite simple prose, it absorbingly evokes that long gone world with its tall stories, colourful characters (so much grog!) and damages of colonisation.
Reading time 13 days, 19 pages/day