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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Redshirts in Books

Dec 23, 2018

Redshirts

John Scalzi | 2012 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

7.5

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

Some books are surreal suspensions of disbelief. Some books just make you go "WHAT the FUCK" every couple of chapters when a new twist is revealed, and this is one of the latter. Just - what the FUCK.

Imagine your average sci-fi space opera TV show on cable television with hand-wavey science and half-assed special effects - take those characters and make them realize they're IN A TV SHOW. Let them realize all of their woes are due to shitty writing, and see what they do with that knowledge. THAT is this book, and it is crazy and hilarious and weird and eye-roll-inducing.

Between the time travel, the Box that does magic science behind the scenes so things work out on-screen, the Narrative taking control and making people say and do things they wouldn't otherwise do - this book is wacky and just full of what-the-fuckery. It's fun, though, and if you can keep yourself from groaning out loud every few pages, it's a pretty good read.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com

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Deborah (162 KP) rated The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle in Books

Dec 25, 2018

The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle

Stuart Turton | 2018 | Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy

7.9

(24 Ratings)

Book Rating

Original premise, yet in familiar country house territory (0 more)

A couple of things not fully explained (0 more)

Great page-turning read!

Really enjoyed this! It was my pick for our book club and I think it will generate plenty of discussion. It's just over 500 pages long and we would usually try and stick with a maximum of 400 pages, but this was just so easy to read and so engrossing I got through it really quickly.

It's confusing at first, but I think you are supposed to feel the confusion of the protagonist. There are quite a few characters and the time-travel-body-hoping element can be a little confusing, but there is an internal logic to the book. There were one or two things at the end that weren't quite clear or weren't explained, but overall this is a cracking good read. I think it would be great to read again and try and spot the 'clues' along the way, although I don't think it's a solution you are going to guess, but just enjoy the ride!