Pete's Log: Writing Book Reviews
Entry #2579, (Books, Writing, n such)(posted when I was 46 years old.)
I'm about to spoil a movie that came out thirty years ago.
Back in late 1994, about a year and a half after we moved to the US, Star Trek Generations came out. I was incredibly excited to go see it, and a classmate of mine was as well. So I finally make it to the theater and absolutely loved it. The next day at school, I track down my classmate and tell him I saw it and that Kirk dies! This is a core memory and I remember how strongly I needed to tell him. A few kids in earshot, however, were shocked that I would spoil the movie for him. Until that moment, the concept of spoiling plots was completely unfamiliar to me.
I'm pretty sure I've heard since then that the taboo on spoiling plots is a cultural thing and not universal, so maybe I erred because I hadn't grown up in the US. Either way, since then I've had a strong aversion to spoilers, because I had caused such a scene spoiling Kirk's death.
In fact, seven years later, I even wrote "I am becoming more and more convinced that the best way to enjoy good books and good movies is to go in without any idea of what is going to happen. Previews suck."
And thus why I struggle writing reviews of anything. It's easy for books I think are bad, because then I don't care if I spoil them.
Not that my reviews are usually anything more than a quick blurb that mostly serves for me to keep track of what I've read. I dunno. Anyhoo... I've read two more books since my last update and listened to another.
- Orbital by Samantha Harvey
This novel won the 2024 Booker Prize. While technically the book is a novel, it doesn't feel like one. It's more of a meditation on our planet and our species. Our hubris and foolishness and hope. It follows one day (16 orbits) on a near-future space station. The prose is mostly beautiful, though at times perhaps trying a bit too much to be so. The plot feels repetitive, but isn't orbiting the planet once every 90 minutes also repetitive? The book is a fast read, but not a fast-moving one if that makes sense. I enjoyed it.
- The Outskirter's Secret by Rosemary Kirstein
This is the sequel to The Steerswoman which I read based on a recommendation by Cory Doctorow. His review does mention that it's a series, but I somehow missed or forgot that part. So I enjoyed the first book and I really enjoyed the second book, and because Doctorow's review goes to such lengths to avoid spoiling the book, how can I tell you anything more than I already ordered books three and four.
My only concern is that the series is unfinished. There is a risk in getting invested when the end hasn't been published yet (thinking of you, George R. R. Martin). But Kirstein just started a Patreon to fund herself while she works on books 5 and 6 (which she admits have been stalled for "some time now.").
So I guess if you don't want to get invested in a series that isn't finished yet, maybe wait on this one. But I'm not waiting.
- Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
I first read this one twenty some years ago, and now listened to the audio book. Superficially, it feels a bit dated and cringy, but deep down it still feels incredibly relevant. I read something recently (might have been by Cory Doctorow, but I can't seem to find it) about how the internet entrepreneurs need to stop mistaking dystopian science fiction as a vision for the future, but instead remember that it's a warning. This is certainly one of those books.