Mike > Recent Status Updates

This is really fascinating. Everyone seems completely justified in what they do, but both Frankenstien and the Monster end up looking like assholes. end up looking like

This would be a lot better if it were more subtle. It's no fun when Wells tells us the exact signs of a serial killer and the exact description of sociopathy and then demonstrates that it applies to John - it would be more interesting if he let the reader do some of the work.

This is just weird. This book has no central plot. I don't even know what I'm supposed to think of it.

I feel like Jackson isn't quite sure what kind of story she wants to tell here. She keeps skirting around the edges of a potential theme, but we never see it.

I am enjoying this. Not quite as much as I thought I would, but it's still pretty good.

This is kinda cliched, although being in John's head is kinda interesting. Still, did the narrator have to be a social outcast living in a small town with parents that work at a morgue? It just seems like exactly the person you'd expect to be a serial killer, which often isn't how it is in real life. (Not to mention that his name is literally John Wayne Cleaver.) It's just... not original.

I kinda want to read Paradise Lost now.

The Monster is a really, really interesting character. All in all, this seems like a pretty good start for sci-fi.

I'm not sure what to think of this. It's certainly very different from Someone Else's Love Story.

The real story is most definitely worth the wait. I mean, this is just phenomenal.

This is easily the best book in the series so far. I don't care what any of the fandom says. Most fans seem to like the third one best, but this is far, far better.

Man, this would be really good if not for the constant flashbacks. I like Laurel as a character, and her relationship with her sister is... interesting. I'm waiting for it to go all Imaginary Girls on us. But it's the pacing that's the weakest link.

And finally, almost halfway in, we really meet the Monster. This better be worth the wait.

The Bane! I'm actually a little relieved that he's evil. Not sure why, but I am.

Jackson is making a very similar mistake to the one she did in Someone Else's Love Story, if on a smaller scale - the opening is bogged down by infodumps and flashbacks.

This is moving pretty slowly. And it's too bad, because it's otherwise really good.

This is getting progressively darker. It almost makes it worth the return of Zap and Photos Glow-Glow.

I like this writing style. I hope the story is just as good.

This is kind of a slow beginning. It would probably be less noticeable if not for the narrator at the beginning, which was completely unnecessary.

The gender politics are surprisingly well-done. I like how clear it is that Eliza isn't happy with how she's being treated.

I'm a little disappointed that the theme here seems to be fairly anti-science. But it's otherwise quite a good book, so I'll put up with it.

This is pretty funny. It's definitely philosophical, but I didn't expect this sense of humour.

I really like Victor as a character. Shelly establishes him really well. And as I'm seeing him developed, I think I'm getting a greater appreciation of the protagonist of Young Frankenstein - that movie really was an effective homage.

This dialogue is great. But the story is going kinda slowly.

Things aren't gonna get creepy between Victor and Elizabeth, are they?

There is a tunnel in this book called the Tunnel of Swag. No commentary shall resume until we all take a second to appreciate this fact.

This is going to be hard to get through. But I'm determined not to skim, the way I found myself doing with Great Expectations. Because it's certainly not bad so far, if a little overdone.

This is alright so far. Shaw certainly has a handle on the different dialects of his characters.

I just realized that Ripred is basically a less evil version of Spike from Buffy. Making him even more awesome and amazing.

That went much faster than the opening of the previous book, which is quite a relief. Also, the Bane is interesting.