@awenspark@bookstodon Tender is the Flesh was a book that absolutely wrecked my mental well-being for a week or two, but also I went out of my way to recommend to others after reading.
Loved to be horrified by it. Still think about that experience years later.
@lorywidmerhess@bookstodon Like you, I've found Stevenson hit and miss (the one I'm reading now seems like a miss), but I absolutely LOVED Fair Miss Fortune, gave it 4.5/5 at the Storygraph
I got a 1 star #review on my latest book yesterday. I’m trying to figure out how this happen, purely on a technical aspect. I’ve never sent an ARC to anyone named “Alexander.” Also, this person only has 15 total books read on their #GoodReads profile. The other 14 a different genre, then there’s my book. Best theory I can come up with is this person didn’t want to ruin their pristine account by giving a 1 star so used another account to do the dirty work. #writingcommunity#author@bookstodon
@dickrubin716@bookstodon interesting that it references plot points, which suggests they did in fact read the book.
It does read like they tried really hard to sound like actual critique, but it's also cleary a hit piece. No actual review is this exclusively negative.
As a social scientist, I keep getting #review invites from one of the most prestigious journals in my field for papers from the natural sciences, i.e. concerning the content of some chemical etc. Anyone who has looked at even a single one of my publications, or my profile on any website, or my CV would know immediately there is no way I can review these papers. So what does this tell about the quality of the #reviewprocess? 🤔 @academicchatter
@David_Gregory@academicchatter
It's double blind peer review. But also, it's one of the most prestigious journals in my field. This is what shocks me. I wouldn't be surprised about this kind of practice in a predatory journal but at this level?
@mfi@academicchatter absolutely, not so far of, but within the general topic out of my scope. I mentioned this several times, clarified my entry in their reviewer database, but get still review requests for unsuitable papers/ articles.
What do @neilhimself and I have in common? Find out with my latest review at Shiny New Books -- presenting the new Folio Society edition of Charmed Life by the great #DianaWynneJones.
Here's hoping more Chrestomanci is in store ...
@lorywidmerhess@bookstodon@neilhimself It's a great book! I loved it as a kid, and recently read it to my own son who felt the same. I like the subtle shape of the cat on the cover!
My #bookreview is brief/won't spoil, to spread good, great, spectacular #horror#books far & wide.
A HAUNTING ON THE HILL by Elizabeth Hand is fine, as a "haunted house" book. It's competent & relatively engaging AS LONG AS YOU DON'T COMPARE IT TO THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE.
The tone, plot, & writing is not at the same level- not even in the same neighborhood- as Jackson's. Hill House's horrors still walk alone.
@xsecur@bookstodon For lit lovers, Wyrd Sisters is a hilarious Shakespeare sendup. Other recommended starting points: Mort, Small Gods, and Going Postal. My first was The Truth. Good luck!
Do I rate this based on the present (2023) or when I first saw this in 1994? I guess the latter, so it will be fair, an 8 out of 10. Many are raising and giving bad reviews about this show, but I think it is unfair. This was an early 1990s movie. Movies people are rating today will be just as a “bad” as they described 30 years from now.
That out of the way. It was nostalgic, re-watching this 29 years later. I was reminded of how people think of time travel back then, with not so much a worry about the grandfather paradox, and more about ripples in time.
We've come a long way, not just in movie making, storytelling, but also in how we perceive time and time travel. Yet, the ideas from the 20th Century is as valid today as it was before, only better and more mind-boggling.
If they reboot this, either as a new movie or a TV series, I wonder how it will be reinterpreted. Or maybe, one just have to watch the Korean TV sci-fi “Sisyphus: The Myth” to have a glimpse of what it can be. ^_~
@youronlyone@films@film@movies@movies I guess the complexity of human relationships will never change, which is why Shakespeare continues to resonate.
Lesson there for me: Build your plot on top of human-human relationships and conflict, not the other way round.
I think it's why #Kdrama is popular these days, they focus on human-human relationships in every story they create. Like, yes, Shakespeare. It isn't about immersion; it's about resonating with your audience.
Review: The Fall of Gondolin, by J R R Tolkien (edited by Christopher Tolkien)
On the blog, my newest review is over on the @NerdsofaFeather blog today
@Princejvstin@NerdsofaFeather@bookstodon unlike The Fall of Gondolin and Beren and Lúthien, The Children of Hurin is presented as a single cohesive narrative, so that one might work as an audiobook.
@NickEast@bookreviews@bookbubble@bookstodon@humour i read that book young and found it depressing too. Later i could appreciate the beauty but imaginary tales that demand lots of death because that's reality... never made sense when aimed at children. Most of our friends will live longer than one summer.
My review of Morgan is My Name, a new take on the Arthurian legends through the eyes of Morgana Le Fay. Engaging feminist retelling of her childhood and growth to womanhood under the capricious tyranny of Uther Pendragon and other untrustworthy men. https://narrellemharris.com/reviews/review-morgan-is-my-name-by-sophie-keetch/
@NarrelleMHarris@bookstodon I listened to the audiobook of this and was pleasantly surprised by how good it is. I'm looking forward to the next volume in the series. I love "Arthur" stories but too often they're just bad fanfic.
One of my favorite series is Peter David's "Knight Life" series.
"Tim Booth is shocked when his first emergency callout for someone short of breath turns out to be an adult man with a blocked nose. Far from beginner's luck, this turns out to be an omen for the rest of his paramedic career."
Full notes on the bookwyrm entry but suffice to say this is a brilliant book, which I've been looking forward to since I heard from @Kon that it was on the way.