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AJ Kerrigan

ajkerrigan@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 3 months ago

Lurking outside books at @aj@speckledmonkey.com

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AJ Kerrigan's books

To Read (View all 364)

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Donald Knuth: Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About (Center for the Study of Language and Information - Lecture Notes) (2003, Center for the Study of Language and Information)
Alan Watts: The way of Zen (1989, Vintage Books)
Susan Orlean: The Library Book (2018)

Currently Reading

Sylvia Townsend Warner: Kingdoms of Elfin (Paperback, 1978, Delacorte Pr)
Neil Gaiman: The Sandman (1994, DC Comics)
Ursula K. Le Guin: The Farthest Shore (Paperback, 1984, Bantam)

Read (View all 299)

Aliette de Bodard: The Tea Master and the Detective (2018, Subterranean)
Mary Robinette Kowal, Mary Robinette Kowal: The Spare Man (Hardcover, 2022, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom)
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Gardner Dozois: The book of magic (2018)

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avatar for ajkerrigan AJ Kerrigan boosted

finished reading Sol 2781 by Janet Edwards (Drago Tell Dramis, #3)

Janet Edwards: Sol 2781 (EBook) No rating

Sol 2781 is the third of three full-length novels set immediately after the novelette length …

Overview: A breathtaking climax to the series told by a great storyteller.

This series is rather hard to describe - it's not a simple three act play. There are many themes and plots weaving in and out, so it is hard to say "this is a story about...", because it is about so many things. It is a story about prejudice, about societal norms, about guilt and social pressure. It has all the good points of old fashioned Science Fiction, real science and imagined situations - lots of good "what if" scenarios - yet it explores them with a truly diverse cast of believable people who you come to know and care about. These people have plenty of interpersonal drama and growth, as well as getting put in dangerous situations that are described in such amazingly written action scenes that I found myself having to remember to breathe. Perhaps the …

reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Susanna Clarke: Piranesi (2020, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc) 4 stars

Piranesi's house is no ordinary building; its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls …

Wonder, unfolding

5 stars

This is one of those "sense of wonder turned to 11" books for me. A great story that unfolds beautifully in the moment, and also makes you continually re-evaluate what you've read along the way.

The book's description mentions "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" and "Circe" as reference points. While those feel fair, I found myself thinking more about Patrick Rothfuss's "The Slow Regard of Silent Things" and M.R. Carey's Rampart Trilogy ("The Book of Koli", etc). There's a certain feeling I don't have the words to describe, but which feels shared among those books. "Reverence for the mundane" isn't quite it, but maybe close.

I had passed over "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" despite many recommendations, and now I feel compelled to revisit that!

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reviewed The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard

Aliette de Bodard: The Tea Master and the Detective (2018, Subterranean) 4 stars

Lovely space noir

4 stars

I read this on the heels of Citadel of Weeping Pearls, and found this story to be more up my alley. Citadel had gotten me curious about the Xuya universe, but this book told a story that grabbed me more strongly. It packs a lot of nuance and richness into such a short story, and it only has me more curious to see more of what Xuya has to offer.

reviewed The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal, Mary Robinette Kowal: The Spare Man (Hardcover, 2022, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom) 4 stars

Hugo, Locus, and Nebula-Award winner Mary Robinette Kowal blends her no-nonsense approach to life in …

Thoroughly engrossing, loved it

5 stars

I've never read Dashiell Hammett's "The Thin Man", but if that's a grounded precursor to this spacefaring mystery I should! This was a fun sci-fi/noir/mystery romp with great characters (and excellent dog representation).

Early on I was noticing all the accessibility/inclusion bits more than the story itself, which certainly prompts some self-reflection. There's a certain obvious silliness in accepting an interplanetary honeymoon cruise without missing a beat, but tripping over gender-neutral titles.

Once I settled into the story I was fully engaged and could not stop reading (mostly listening actually - the narration is top notch as usual from the author).

I'm looking forward to the upcoming/teased episode of the Writing Excuses podcast in which Mary Robinette will take us deeper into this book.

Fantine is my hero. I want a cup of tea with her and Avasarala from the Expanse series.