Andrew Benesh > Recent Status Updates

The prologue presents an interesting hook, and has me wondering about the incidence of this phenomenon in other heavily sex segregated cultures. Azita herself is a fascinating woman.

Done! The final chapter on medicalization was rough; the early history of transplants was fascinating, but it seems the author chose to take the word of urologists that sex therapy lable evidence rather than examining the research base. Still, the discussion of the rise of pharmaceuticals and unknown future impacts was well written.

The chapter of feminism was disappointing; one gets the impression the author was more focused on cute turns of please than a well rounded examination of sexual politics. The discussion of rape theories was particularly anemic. The later section on homonal development was much better.

I generally cringe when books bring up Freud, but this was written with an appropriate level of criticism and recognition of the arbitrary nature his theories. The section on Dora was particularly biting. I did feel like the author's attempts to tie in the Clinton impeachment were a bit of a stretch.

The chapter on racial discrimination as expressed through preceptions and narratives around black penises was well written, and is a great example of scientific racism. There is a weird tension between the authors condemnations of racist characterizations of "big black penises", the authors repeated use of the phrase, and the authors note that size differences aren't supported empirically.

The exploration of Kellogg and the anti masturbation movement, with it's erroneous scientific base, is a good reminder that our understandings of things are often very incomplete. It's also a helpful lens for understanding modern conservative attacks on sexuality.

I enjoyed the first chapters examination of religious traditions and Aquinas' single handed demonization of sexuality. It providers some good context to ideas that make little sense in the modern world.

DONE! The final chapters in climate change and the ecological future of whales were powerful. I was familiar with the research on Bowhead whale lifespans, but hadn't considered the ecological changes in that timeframe. The section on shifting baselines and the lack of good data on ecological patterns pre-whaling was perspective warping. I think the last section may be my favorite part of this book!

The section on whales today had some neat research, and the explanations of intersections between whaling and research were informative. The explanations of whales growing to record sizing still feels a little fuzzy, but is intriguing.

The final revelations of Cerro Ballena are really quite impressive! I like how the author walks through the laser scanning and scientific collaboration processes, and the challenges of reasoning out what happened at the site (4 times!). The whalefall biology is fascinating. I do wonder about the impacts of modern whale carcass management on future fossil studies.

I really liked the juxtaposition of living whales and the remains of whaling camps in the first section. The Antarctica hand map feels like a great lecture tool. The early discussion of whale biodiversity and evolutionary ancestors is surprisingly readable whole maintaining detail and depth.

Done! The ending twists were a bit jarring, and I wish we saw a little more into Kataria and Asper at the end. Still, it's a good place to move forward from for the rest of the trilogy. It feels like The Empire Strikes Back.

I knew things were going to go badly for the mediation, but damn. The Sainites are crazy in the best way. Miron has to die badly, but in probably a thousand pages away from that happening, in another book. I do wonder what Denaos is up to in all this; I imagine he and Resca won't be friends going forward. Dread's sexy adventure is... questionable.

This plan seems rather poorly constructed. The Denaos - Dread "special day" scene was great. I feel like it's been forever since we actually saw Miron. And clearly more killing is coming. I'm hoping we'll get more plot arc for Kwar.

Gariath vs Kharga round 2 was satisfying, add was the brief aside into class politics and oid identity. Denaos reflections on thieving seemed very UE. Asper is having a weird little adventure.

Aww, Gariath made a friend. And I guess Kataria kind of made a friend. Denaos past is just.... Yeeks. So much more depth on the Jackals.

While the first rule of life is to never split the party, it does lead to some neat character development arcs. I particularly enjoyed Denaos visit to the Jackals and Kataria's new shict friends. I'm expecting some interesting fallout from Dread and Asper's side quests. And the whole Miron twist on fascinating given his role in the last books. You'd think SOMEONE would've checked his credentials.

A very polished battle sequence, and some really great one liners. I see Dread and Gariath are back on their BS. I'm looking forward to getting more depth from Denaos.

I'm enjoying the world building and the character review. I expect proper contact with Miron will start the main plot.

The opening reminds me a lot of the first book in Affinity for Steel, but with exposition through dialogue rather than journaling. The tone is well set right away, with just enough character description to begin to orient readers.

Done. The reflections between Vader and Thrawn really tired together nicely in the end. Vader still felt unusually chatty, but it was necessary to show Thrawn's character. I do wish we got more Mokivj follow up; that part reminded me a lot of A New Dawn. I'm curious to see the continued expansion onto the Unknown Regions.

I like how the story really keys into TCW stuff. I still feel Vader's speech is a bit off, but his dynamic with Than in both areas is well constructed. Padme's resilience and spycraft are also really well captured.

The plot is evolving, and I'm enjoying the Thrawn-Anakin dynamic. The AoTC throwback was beautiful.

Good pacing and mirroring between chapters. Vader feels oddly chatty, and Thrawn is a little more trollish , but I like it.

I'm enjoying the tension between Thrawn and Vader. The initial Padme flashback was nice, but felt too short.

Done! A really fitting, satisfying ending. Seeing Grinda reach her civic goals, true love succeed, and a truly modern postal system is always a treat. The opening for additional books in the series was well crafted. The epilogue is a nice confirmation of the thesis, and a refreshing direct conversation about gendered narratives.

Grinda is really growing on me. Poltro's coffee continue to astound, but I suppose there's not much to be done with it. Creepy tree murder is creepy.

The halfling gangs are a great spin, and the wordplay is unrelenting. The troll fight was there best thing I've ever read.

The catacombs of Yore were surprisingly complicated. I love the available signage in this universe, and the recurrent reminders of the plights of goats

This is incredibly Monty Python. Also, increasingly it would make a good musical.