Markus Hell ( of Intergalaktisches Seemannsgarn)

Markus Hell and 2 other people liked Celia's review of Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings:
Jul 09, 2026 05:39AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Markus Hell rated a book really liked it The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #2) by Dan Simmons	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A grand, ambitious, impressive and imaginative sci-fi novel full of fascinating ideas, but ultimately not quite as good as Hyperion, the first novel in the series. Hyperion ends on a cliffhanger, and the sequel starts annoying the reader from the begi ...more
Jul 07, 2026 01:35PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Markus Hell rated a book it was amazing Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1) by Dan Simmons	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Really liked this novel, science fiction at its best for me - a sprawling, well-realised world full of dense history, politics, religion and culture, an intriguing plot and a host of characters that shed light on different aspects of the fascinating ...more
Jun 16, 2026 07:35AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Hyperion by Dan Simmons <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Markus Hell liked Victoria Rodriguez Piceda's review of The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida: "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is one of those rare novels that captivated me from the very first page. Few books narrated in the second person have held my attention so completely, and here that choice feels not stylistic but essential. It creates" Read more of this review »
Jun 05, 2026 03:42PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Markus Hell rated a book really liked it The Midnight Library (The Midnight World, #1) by Matt Haig (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I actually liked this more than I expected. I'm very wary of self-help books masquerading as novels and fairly superficial insights being presented as some deep truth (see especially: The Alchemist, which I hated), and sure this book definitely is a ...more
May 26, 2026 09:34AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Midnight Library by Matt Haig <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Markus Hell rated a book it was amazing Piranesi by Susanna Clarke	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Loved this. It's a fundamentally strange story, reminiscent of Borges' or Calvino's imaginary worlds, starting off with genuinely disorienting opening chapters where Piranesi presents the strange world he lives in. But once I got into the world and t ...more
May 17, 2026 03:33AM · 1 like · like · see review
Markus Hell rated a book really liked it The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Starts off furiously and ends beautifully, but unfortunately loses a lot of steam in between. I genuinely loved the opening chapters. The narrative voice is rich and epic, and despite the vast number of characters Diamant manages to keep each characte ...more
May 05, 2026 02:12AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Red Tent by Anita Diamant <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Markus Hell liked Celia's review of Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5):
Apr 29, 2026 11:54PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Markus Hell wants to read Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire by Chris Kempshall (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 20, 2026 02:52PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Star Wars by Chris Kempshall. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Star Wars by Chris Kempshall <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Markus Hell rated a book it was ok The Invincible by Stanisław Lem	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I was quite disappointed in this which is a shame as I normally like Lem. I'm well used to classic science fiction being rather weak on the characters, which is certainly the case here - there is really only one sort of fleshed out character, Rohan, ...more
Apr 15, 2026 10:40AM · like · see review

Markus Hell and 2 other people liked Celia's review of Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings:

Markus Hell rated a book really liked it

The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #2)
by Dan Simmons

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A grand, ambitious, impressive and imaginative sci-fi novel full of fascinating ideas, but ultimately not quite as good as Hyperion, the first novel in the series.

Hyperion ends on a cliffhanger, and the sequel starts annoying the reader from the begi ...more

Markus Hell rated a book it was amazing

Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1)
by Dan Simmons

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Really liked this novel, science fiction at its best for me - a sprawling, well-realised world full of dense history, politics, religion and culture, an intriguing plot and a host of characters that shed light on different aspects of the fascinating Really liked this novel, science fiction at its best for me - a sprawling, well-realised world full of dense history, politics, religion and culture, an intriguing plot and a host of characters that shed light on different aspects of the fascinating world. The novel throws you in the deep end from the start, full of references that mean nothing to the reader; but as you go on you find yourself discovering the world as a traveller or explorer would. I especially liked the thorough descriptions of Hyperion itself - a gorgeous, fascinating, and "real" place that we discover through the stories of the pilgrims.

With any book consisting of somewhat self-contained stories, some are bound to be better than others. My favourites were the priest's and the scholar's tales, while I wasn't a big fan of the soldier's and poet's tales. I was impressed, however, how well the seemingly disparate stories of widely different genres come together to build a consistent plot; starting from references to the same places or characters and building to major revelations that show the entire frame story in a new light.

Many sci-fi novels from the 80s suffer from presenting "futuristic" tech that seems horribly outdated now; Simmons largely manages to avoid that by not explaining too much about the various gadgets and therefore allowing the reader to form their own ideas. That said, it is impressive how modern much of the tech still seems; only the dataplane scenes are a bit too 80s/90s technobabble. Similarly, while there are suspiciously many cultural references to 20th century figures, the novel always tries to ensure that characters also refer to their own cultural reference points, and therefore comes across as fairly timeless rather than rooted in its publication date.

The ending is a cliffhanger, only setting up a sequel instead of a fulfilling conclusion. But even standalone, I find this novel one of the most fascinating sci-fi stories I've ever read. A true immersion in a plausible, richly realised future. ...more

Markus Hell liked Victoria Rodriguez Piceda's review of The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida:

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

"The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is one of those rare novels that captivated me from the very first page. Few books narrated in the second person have held my attention so completely, and here that choice feels not stylistic but essential. It creates" Read more of this review »

Markus Hell rated a book really liked it

The Midnight Library (The Midnight World, #1)
by Matt Haig (Goodreads Author)

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I actually liked this more than I expected. I'm very wary of self-help books masquerading as novels and fairly superficial insights being presented as some deep truth (see especially: The Alchemist, which I hated), and sure this book definitely is a ...more

Markus Hell rated a book it was amazing

Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Loved this. It's a fundamentally strange story, reminiscent of Borges' or Calvino's imaginary worlds, starting off with genuinely disorienting opening chapters where Piranesi presents the strange world he lives in. But once I got into the world and t ...more

Markus Hell rated a book really liked it

The Red Tent
by Anita Diamant (Goodreads Author)

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Starts off furiously and ends beautifully, but unfortunately loses a lot of steam in between.

I genuinely loved the opening chapters. The narrative voice is rich and epic, and despite the vast number of characters Diamant manages to keep each characte Starts off furiously and ends beautifully, but unfortunately loses a lot of steam in between.

I genuinely loved the opening chapters. The narrative voice is rich and epic, and despite the vast number of characters Diamant manages to keep each character memorable and distinct. I was particularly impressed by the thorough believability of the historical setting. Retelling age-old stories through a modern lens always runs the risk of either presenting society as backwards and entirely distinct from modernity, or more commonly of imposing anachronistically modern viewpoints on ancient societies. Diamant manages to avoid both; her depiction of Old testament Canaan and Egypt feels real, lived in, with a host of local beliefs and practices, while Dinah as the main character evolves into a self-assured woman and accomplished midwife while still holding archaic views on society and relations between men and women as makes sense for somebody in her shoes. The other characters, too, are fleshed out well, particularly Jacob's wives; and the men, while certainly not depicted in a flattering light, are also written as well rounded results of their beliefs and backgrounds, with Joseph in particular ending up as a more realistic power figure than other stories portray him. The plot, characters and setting are incredibly close to the original Bible text but give it more depth, more shape and ultimately a believable world.

Unfortunately, after an incredible start, the novel's plot loses a lot of momentum and meanders from one place to another without much narrative drive. The central shocking event - the one that is Dinah's only real story in the Bible tale - feels unearned, with Simon and Levi as fairly cartoonish villains, and the more unbelievable aspects of the Bible text simply directly reproduced without any attempt to ground it more thoroughly in the society and politics drawn so well elsewhere in the novel. The Egypt chapters are fascinating from a historical perspective but the new characters Dinah meets there remain a bit flat compared to the richness of the Bible characters from the first half, and it's no surprise that the story only picks up steam again after the links to Dinah's earlier life start to show up.

The ending itself reconciled me with the weaknesses of the middle, though; it is a beautiful and well earned conclusion, moving past trauma and horrors to delight in the power of storytelling and legacy. Overall, I really enjoyed the novel and recommend it to anyone interested in ancient historical settings for its vivid and plausible portrayal of a society far removed from ours yet still relatable, even though it takes some patience to get through the plodding middle chapters. ...more

Markus Hell liked Celia's review of Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5):

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

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Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
by Chris Kempshall (Goodreads Author)

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Markus Hell rated a book it was ok

The Invincible
by Stanisław Lem

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I was quite disappointed in this which is a shame as I normally like Lem. I'm well used to classic science fiction being rather weak on the characters, which is certainly the case here - there is really only one sort of fleshed out character, Rohan, ...more

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