Thousands of years in the future, humanity is no longer alone in a universe where …
Fantastic sci-fi epic
5 stars
Fantastically deep and original sci-fi epic. Picked this up on a whim and can't recommend it to others enough. The various species are really well developed and the intertwining plots are both incredibly interesting in of themselves. May have taken me some time to get though as it isn't a short book, but enjoyed every moment I was reading.
I picked this up when I visited Samye Ling Monastery recently. This is genuine a really fantastic autobiography reflecting on Lama Yeshe's escape from Tibet, his excesses in the West and his eventual reconciliation to Tibetan Buddhism. Really well written and just a fascinating life, and well worth a read whether you've an interest in Buddhism or not.
The Moth and the Mountain: A True Story of Love, War, and Everest is a …
Really interesting read. Maurice Wilson was a fascinating, complex character and this biography does a good, if imperfect, job of trying to understand him. Worth it for anyone with an interest in adventure, mountain climbing, or simply eccentric Yorkshiremen.
As the Angostin battle hordes surge over the Southern Borders of the Highlands, the bandit, …
A fun short bit of heroic fantasy
3 stars
Always strange going back to books you read a decade or more ago. It's great to remind yourself of why you enjoyed them so much, but it's difficult not to pick out their flaws when you've got so much more reading under your belt.
I definitely think more could have been done with some of the characters and some of the story could have done with being expanded on. Another hundred pages could have really helped.
Still, an enjoyable read and a fun wander down memory lane!
A devil run amok on a ship filled with some of the worst rogues around - what's not to love? This was a real pleasure to read, mixing murder mystery, historical fiction, fantasy, and a touch of horror. Stuart Turton didn't get bogged down with a hundred pages of character introductions before the story gets started. Instead this starts with a bang, finishes with a bang, and is full of bangs throughout, all while making you love, loathe, and constantly question the motives of his varied cast of characters. I'm excited for what he writes next. Highly recommended.
Edgar Allan Poe is not only the finest, most terrifying writer of Gothic horror tales …
Fascinating read
4 stars
I had never read any of Poe's short stories until now, but having done so, I can understand the influence that he has had on so much subsequent fiction, and not only on horror.
With a few exceptions, the stories here were gripping and often horrifying, showing the enduring power of his gothic writing. In 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'Berenice' and 'William Wilson', he manages to show moral decay, obsession and madness in a way which can be disturbing to read even now.
Though he may best be known for his gothic horror, it is important to recognise the influence of 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' and 'The Purloined Letter', which may have invented the detective story as we know it. They were an enjoyable and intriguing read, even if they were not as well developed as later detective stories like those of Sherlock Holmes.
While some of the stories …
I had never read any of Poe's short stories until now, but having done so, I can understand the influence that he has had on so much subsequent fiction, and not only on horror.
With a few exceptions, the stories here were gripping and often horrifying, showing the enduring power of his gothic writing. In 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'Berenice' and 'William Wilson', he manages to show moral decay, obsession and madness in a way which can be disturbing to read even now.
Though he may best be known for his gothic horror, it is important to recognise the influence of 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' and 'The Purloined Letter', which may have invented the detective story as we know it. They were an enjoyable and intriguing read, even if they were not as well developed as later detective stories like those of Sherlock Holmes.
While some of the stories hold up better than others, and some of his characters, especially the women, are paper-thin, this is a worthwhile collection for any fiction reader who wants to understand the influence Edgar Allan Poe has had on fiction writing, or who just wants an enjoyable collection of stories to horrify and intrigue them.
