Tom Randall

Loved the first half, second half really dragged. KSR sometimes loses the thread in this and some of his other books, when there's no real A plot.

Obviously the point is that Rabbit sucks, but if the unlikable protagonist has no redeeming qualities and no real internal conflict, it's just not interesting. It's a shame the occasionally brilliant prose is in service of such indulgent Boomer bullshit.

More straightforward than I was expecting, but will be a good intro to Norse mythology for the kids some day

Is this the best book I've ever read?

Drags a little in the second half but immediately goes on my essential professional writing shelf

Love the subject matter, didn't love some of the over-the-top pro-Western bias, wanted more info about the manuscripts themselves

Total ripoff of The Martian

As good as advertised

Tough to give this a rating - it's a slog to read straight through but if you're in the right mindset you feel transported. Very approachable but the pacing is challenging when you're used to modern stories.

Worth five stars for the Conspiracy chapter alone

I love Trebek and Jeopardy, so I could barely put it down

Huge, sweeping book. Loved every part of it.

The epilogue, written just after Scalia died, is pretty depressing given all that's happened since.

Ultimately everything here ends up being a dystopia. I get why - it's almost impossible to imagine any other kind of future now - but what we need from sci-fi is a vision of something livable.

As good as advertised

The thesis is solid, but the case studies are starting to feel dated.

I wanted more!

Loved the ideas in here but they were underexplored - could have been longer (something I rarely say about nonfiction)! Lost Connections is a more thorough treatment of some of the same concepts.

Only complaint is I could have used more stuff in the future showing the fallout.

This is a wild ride and should be getting much more press. I get why he doesn't come to a strong conclusion, but it does end up being frustrating (which is obviously sort of the point).

Great overview, with a strong focus on the underappreciated connections to racial justice, feminist, and LGBT movements.

Nothing groundbreaking here but really well presented.

Once you get a feel for the structure, it's really moving and well done.

So well-written, actually scary, and surprisingly funny. The characters are mostly complex and interesting with just the right amount of subtext.

He gets extreme creepiness from so few words and so little plot.