Reviews and Comments

It's good fun. Was a bit shorter than I expected so the ending felt a bit abrupt (reading it as part of a Tor ebook collection so couldn't see how long was left). Murderbot's an interesting character, and the story from their point of view is interesting, especially when there are so many hours of Sanctuary Moon left to be watched. The problem of that perspective is it makes it hard to distinguish the other characters from each other, but overall it's an enjoyable read.

I just found it a mess, really. A host if unlikeable characters in a universe where things only seem to exist for plot convenience rather than making a coherent background. The main character has no real agency, just rolling from crisis to crisis while people explain the plot to her (well, whatever the plot is at that time, it changes without rhyme or reason) and the most interesting events seem to have happened in the background. No idea why this ended up in a Masterworks collection.

I love Wainwright's guides to the Lake District. As a walker, they're my bible, practical works of art that show you so much about a mountain and the land it sits in.
Unfortunately, this book reveals just how much you have to separate the art and the artist as it reveals what an unpleasant man Wainwright was. However, you need to pull a lot of that out of there as this biography regularly goes out of the way to downplay or just ignore what it reveals. Feels very dated in its style with regular info dumps that feel like padding and large sections that are just Wainwright's self-aggrandising letters presented without any critical engagement.

I enjoyed this, but it's very much the opening book in a series and it's a personal bugbear of mine when a book just cuts off in the middle of a story. I like the ideas and most of the structure, though the opening section before the tales begin is a bit bewildering for just how much it dumps on the reader without context. But the scope and ambition of it is huge, and there's a lot to get stuck into and get you thinking - already have the next book reserved at the library!

More an introductory guide for people who've not thought too much about writing before, but good and clear in what it does. A bit outdated in parts - a lot has changed in twenty years - buy some useful advice and perspective in there. 3.5 stars, but rounding up - if you want something more challenging and in depth, try Le Guin's Steering The Craft.

It's a love story but one written by someone who doesn't know what love is. Reads like an extended fantasy of a man convinced a celebrity would fall in love with him if only she met him. Unfortunately his fantasy figure doesn't have a personality of her own, while he just comes across as obnoxious and convinced of his own genius and talent with no evidence. Its an interesting idea, and might have worked for a better author who could have emphasised either the drama or the absurdity of the situation, but this just falls flat between the two.

There are some useful points in here, and some things that will challenge your own writing and make you think, but you have to carefully extricate them from the morass that surrounds them. Gardner brings forth his instructions like Moses descending from the mountain, sure of his righteousness and blessed with ineffable wisdom. There's an air of condescension to the whole thing, a very patronising attitude as Gardner appears to believe himself better than just about every author who ever lived, and some may tire of his tone long before they take anything useful from this.

Not a simple guide to writing or a step-by-step how to write a book guide, but really powerful. Le Guin shares a lot of her insight and experience, which is useful in itself, but the exercises are the heart of this. They're really good to focus on different skills writers need, and now I want to assemble a group to work on them together!

A really useful book, lots of ideas and encouragement to help writers on their way as well as interesting memoir about his life. (The short story - not by King, but a contest winner - that ends the book isn't very good, though)

It's interesting, but more in the personal sections than the history ones which read more like literature reviews of work that mentions walking. Solnit is interesting with art to say, and the mentions of others are much better when she's challenging them rather than listing them.