Brian M > Recent Status Updates

This novel and Hawthorne are brilliant but I still hate them both.

Decided to restart this after my power went out. Currently reading by lantern light the story of Alobar. Robbins' prose is playful and easy to gobble up.

This prose is dense and dank.

I'm a little bit below halfway through this monster. I feel like I am just getting through the introduction to the characters and the plot is picking up. Feeling like I am "starting" a book at 200ish pages in is not a good feel.

Interested to see where this goes, neat to see the parallels between The Shining and Doctor Sleep.

I'm not sure which part of Survivor is Palahniuk writing from the point of view of a dissociative psychopathic naysayer and which part is Chuck Palahniuk's own world views. Either way, Survivor is getting increasingly melodramatic with it's "we're all just goldfish in a bowl covered in shit, maaaaan" world exploration.

In a way that Old Man's War seemed to have toyed with the idea of identity, The Ghost Brigades has doubled down on it. taking a nod at Frankenstein, The Ghost Brigades follows a character who has had his memory erased and was built from scratch. What makes a human, human? Is it nature or is it nurture? What are the ethics implied in making death machines with the sole purpose of killing?

I wonder what Vonnegut would think of today's political situation. He tackles a lot of events that are salient today. Especially in regards to income inequality, social ethics and veterans returning home. In addition, Rosewater reminiscent of Billy Pilgrim. Vonnegut seems to have a fancy for wealthy individuals who are dealing with ethical and existential dilemmas.

Super interesting launching point for a novel. I had no real idea of what this book was about, or where it was headed when I began. John Scalzi is especially good at picking a good starting point and expanding. Hopefully the rest will be well paced.

About 100 pages in and I want to devour the rest.