Katherine
This peek into the past of the Vorkosigan universe (Vorkosiverse?) was really interesting! I loved the ideas of “what happens when biological engineering becomes technologically obsolete” and “what could one man accomplish” combining to make such a crazy story. There were some moments that I went “okay now that’s too much” and thought that it felt like an early writer’s tendency to make everything go wrong that could possibly go wrong. I really liked the characters, and found myself absolutely LOVING some great malicious compliance with corporate rules towards the end of the book. There were some heavy topics that I wish could have been touched on a bit more, mostly around psychological manipulation (grooming) and censorship, but the book had a LOT going for it even without that. Overall, a super cool read with some surprising twists and solutions that were a lot of fun to see.
This peek into the past of the Vorkosigan universe (Vorkosiverse?) was really interesting! I loved the ideas of “what happens when biological engineering becomes technologically obsolete” and “what could one man accomplish” combining to make such a crazy story. There were some moments that I went “okay now that’s too much” and thought that it felt like an early writer’s tendency to make everything go wrong that could possibly go wrong. I really liked the characters, and found myself absolutely LOVING some great malicious compliance with corporate rules towards the end of the book. There were some heavy topics that I wish could have been touched on a bit more, mostly around psychological manipulation (grooming) and censorship, but the book had a LOT going for it even without that. Overall, a super cool read with some surprising twists and solutions that were a lot of fun to see.
Honestly? I chose to read this for a book challenge as a bit (published in year ending in ‘26).
It really wasn’t what I expected! I knew it was sold as a children’s book and that the protagonist got shipwrecked a million times and found giants and tiny people and that was about it. Turns out Gulliver’s Travels is actually a long-winded political satire based on the (popular at the time) travel memoir, and especially based on throwing shade at Robinson Crusoe, since it wasn’t revealed that book was fictional! So Swift decided to make fun of everyone by writing a “true” travel memoir that is absolutely ridiculous and has many, MANY conversations about the absurdity of government and how awful ~~humans~~ Yahoos are.
From the tiny Lilliputans where Gulliver learns about the corruption of ministers and princes, to the giants of Brobdingnag that criticize European politics, to the Laputans who quite literally have their head in the clouds, and lastly the Houyhnhnms, civilized talking horses, and Yahoos, wild men, that highlights once again how corrupt and awful humanity is. There some really funny moments, like when Swift essentially tells philosophers that they should enjoy pondering about Gulliver’s description of what he had to do “when nature called” in each of these odd lands. Other passages with humor come from Gulliver ranting about lawyers, the stupidity of war, lying, and greed, and describing English history in the last century as “only a heap of conspiracies, rebellions, murders, massacres, revolutions, banishments, the very worst effects that avarice, faction, hypocrisy, perfidiousness, cruelty, rage, madness, hatred, envy, lust, malice, and ambition, could produce.”
Now, there are some things that haven’t aged particularly well (not surprising, given it’s been THREE HUNDRED YEARS). For one, the writing style is extremely verbose, with an excessive use of commas and semicolons accompanying long lists of nouns pertaining to the current topic (see the above quote- many, many passages follow a similar pattern). It’s not impossible to read, but it takes some adjustment to understand it. At times it gets very tedious to read, especially because there is some repetition of ideas in each new society.
There are some odd passages where Swift *seems* to be comparing certain aspects of whatever society Gulliver is in to slavery or race relations, but it doesn’t explore this topic like it does… pretty much everything else. It does somewhat address colonialism and driving natives away from their homeland out of greed, so there is that. The amount of misogyny is astounding. I honestly cannot tell how much of it is exaggerated (some of it HAS to be… right? It’s so over the top) and how much is reflective of the time.
Overall, I liked it more than I thought I would! It’s pretty good as a political satire, if you are able to look past the aged views on some aspects of society. And it did make me laugh a few times with its absurdity and how cleverly Swift came up with insults. So, maybe give it a try? It is an interesting read for purely historical reasons, and it’s more entertaining than some of the classics I had to read for school.
Honestly? I chose to read this for a book challenge as a bit (published in year ending in ‘26).
It really wasn’t what I expected! I knew it was sold as a children’s book and that the protagonist got shipwrecked a million times and found giants and tiny people and that was about it. Turns out Gulliver’s Travels is actually a long-winded political satire based on the (popular at the time) travel memoir, and especially based on throwing shade at Robinson Crusoe, since it wasn’t revealed that book was fictional! So Swift decided to make fun of everyone by writing a “true” travel memoir that is absolutely ridiculous and has many, MANY conversations about the absurdity of government and how awful ~~humans~~ Yahoos are.
From the tiny Lilliputans where Gulliver learns about the corruption of ministers and princes, to the giants of Brobdingnag that criticize European politics, to the Laputans who quite literally have their head in the clouds, and lastly the Houyhnhnms, civilized talking horses, and Yahoos, wild men, that highlights once again how corrupt and awful humanity is. There some really funny moments, like when Swift essentially tells philosophers that they should enjoy pondering about Gulliver’s description of what he had to do “when nature called” in each of these odd lands. Other passages with humor come from Gulliver ranting about lawyers, the stupidity of war, lying, and greed, and describing English history in the last century as “only a heap of conspiracies, rebellions, murders, massacres, revolutions, banishments, the very worst effects that avarice, faction, hypocrisy, perfidiousness, cruelty, rage, madness, hatred, envy, lust, malice, and ambition, could produce.”
Now, there are some things that haven’t aged particularly well (not surprising, given it’s been THREE HUNDRED YEARS). For one, the writing style is extremely verbose, with an excessive use of commas and semicolons accompanying long lists of nouns pertaining to the current topic (see the above quote- many, many passages follow a similar pattern). It’s not impossible to read, but it takes some adjustment to understand it. At times it gets very tedious to read, especially because there is some repetition of ideas in each new society.
There are some odd passages where Swift *seems* to be comparing certain aspects of whatever society Gulliver is in to slavery or race relations, but it doesn’t explore this topic like it does… pretty much everything else. It does somewhat address colonialism and driving natives away from their homeland out of greed, so there is that. The amount of misogyny is astounding. I honestly cannot tell how much of it is exaggerated (some of it HAS to be… right? It’s so over the top) and how much is reflective of the time.
Overall, I liked it more than I thought I would! It’s pretty good as a political satire, if you are able to look past the aged views on some aspects of society. And it did make me laugh a few times with its absurdity and how cleverly Swift came up with insults. So, maybe give it a try? It is an interesting read for purely historical reasons, and it’s more entertaining than some of the classics I had to read for school.
Well written, researched, and very respectful to the families of the 29 crewmen who went down with the ship. I learned a lot about the history of shipping on the Great Lakes and how a culmination of factors led to an inevitable disaster. Even if it wasn’t the Fitzgerald, a ship was going to sink eventually from relaxing safety standards and the corporations’ greed for just a little more iron, just a bit more speed. My heart goes out to those who were lost on the ship and to their remaining families and friends.
Well written, researched, and very respectful to the families of the 29 crewmen who went down with the ship. I learned a lot about the history of shipping on the Great Lakes and how a culmination of factors led to an inevitable disaster. Even if it wasn’t the Fitzgerald, a ship was going to sink eventually from relaxing safety standards and the corporations’ greed for just a little more iron, just a bit more speed. My heart goes out to those who were lost on the ship and to their remaining families and friends.
This is definitely my least favorite Vorkosigan saga book (so far) by a good amount. While some aspects of Shards of Honor and The Warrior’s Apprentice, the other two books also published in 1986 in the series, are a bit clunky and clearly representing an inexperienced Bujold, Ethan of Athos *really* shows that.
The first 60% of the book focuses mainly on Ethan’s character and why he’s being involved in a complex political situation when he’s from a planet that’s likely viewed as very “backwater”- why would anyone care about someone from Athos? Athos is a planet founded by very religious men who wanted a planet free of women- yes, I know, it sounds bad. I was extremely skeptical about this setup. And there are a lot of homophobic “jokes” and moments. Most of them make logical sense why it would happen. Still kinda sucks to read at times. One particular homophobic insult, though, doesn’t make any sense to me even within the context of the world of the book, and that bothered me for a WHILE. But by the *end* of the book, I understood a lot more about why Bujold set it up this way. I needed more of this worldbuilding and Ethan’s views in the beginning. It would’ve made things a lot clearer to begin with.
The problem is, the first and second halves of the books feel very different. The first half follows this trail of breadcrumbs for a mystery, plodding along, then boom something happens and it’s pedal to the metal for the rest of the book. That second half is really well plotted! The answers to the mysteries are interesting, the resolution of the conflict is fun in that Bujold style, and I really liked it.
It really needed more connective tissue between it and the first half, though. Especially when the second half asks all of these great questions about free will and what makes a human a human. I needed more of this philosophy to connect with the first half of the book. It’s not that it’s bad per se. It just feels like there’s a disconnect somewhere.
The book is too short- if there were a few more chapters there that really bridged the two halves, it would’ve helped it a *lot*. I liked the characters- let them *breathe* Bujold! Let the story unfold more slowly if it needs it. Anyway, I do think this is perhaps a symptom of Ethan of Athos being one of her earliest books and even though I had some problems with it, it’s still an enjoyable read (for the most part. Seriously, the homophobia could’ve been toned down). Of course I’ll continue to read Vorkosigan. This one was just a bit of a miss.
This is definitely my least favorite Vorkosigan saga book (so far) by a good amount. While some aspects of Shards of Honor and The Warrior’s Apprentice, the other two books also published in 1986 in the series, are a bit clunky and clearly representing an inexperienced Bujold, Ethan of Athos *really* shows that.
The first 60% of the book focuses mainly on Ethan’s character and why he’s being involved in a complex political situation when he’s from a planet that’s likely viewed as very “backwater”- why would anyone care about someone from Athos? Athos is a planet founded by very religious men who wanted a planet free of women- yes, I know, it sounds bad. I was extremely skeptical about this setup. And there are a lot of homophobic “jokes” and moments. Most of them make logical sense why it would happen. Still kinda sucks to read at times. One particular homophobic insult, though, doesn’t make any sense to me even within the context of the world of the book, and that bothered me for a WHILE. But by the *end* of the book, I understood a lot more about why Bujold set it up this way. I needed more of this worldbuilding and Ethan’s views in the beginning. It would’ve made things a lot clearer to begin with.
The problem is, the first and second halves of the books feel very different. The first half follows this trail of breadcrumbs for a mystery, plodding along, then boom something happens and it’s pedal to the metal for the rest of the book. That second half is really well plotted! The answers to the mysteries are interesting, the resolution of the conflict is fun in that Bujold style, and I really liked it.
It really needed more connective tissue between it and the first half, though. Especially when the second half asks all of these great questions about free will and what makes a human a human. I needed more of this philosophy to connect with the first half of the book. It’s not that it’s bad per se. It just feels like there’s a disconnect somewhere.
The book is too short- if there were a few more chapters there that really bridged the two halves, it would’ve helped it a *lot*. I liked the characters- let them *breathe* Bujold! Let the story unfold more slowly if it needs it. Anyway, I do think this is perhaps a symptom of Ethan of Athos being one of her earliest books and even though I had some problems with it, it’s still an enjoyable read (for the most part. Seriously, the homophobia could’ve been toned down). Of course I’ll continue to read Vorkosigan. This one was just a bit of a miss.
This is the second book in the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy, and unfortunately I felt it was a step down from the first. The prose was still very beautiful, I liked how some of the plotlines set up in the first book paid off here in the second, and I was genuinely a little emotional over some of the events.
My problem with the series is one that might just be personal preference, but it has to do with fate. I don’t like when a character who has a certain fate ordained from previous stories, lives, or prophecy and that character seems to then have no agency or choice in what happens. Keeping this as spoiler-light as possible, there is a moment where Kevin makes a discovery about himself (somehow, it’s unclear) and he immediately accepts that it is now his fate or duty to do what he does. All of the characters are like this in some way. They simply accept whatever role the story is giving them and don’t seem to mourn their loss of free will. “Fate is inevitable” is a perfectly fine theme to explore in fantasy, which is filled with prophecy and destiny. But the characters accepting that because they are chosen for some role, they have to play that role out? That’s not something I particularly enjoyed.
Another, more minor annoyance has to do with fate as well. Specifically, GGK uses a lot of literary, mythological, and historical references that are extremely hard to follow at times. Sometimes, the lore in Fionavar is way overexplained for multiple pages. But in other times, it seems that it is assumed you will immediately know the reference to, for example, Arthurian legend or Greek mythology. It’s sometimes hard to understand why something is happening that way without going to look up the reference. Now, I am very ignorant of a lot of legends and stories, so this may just be me. But the specifics of being marked by some force or this person coming back are lost on me so often that I find it a little frustrating. And when it comes to Fionavar itself, the specific lore in *that* world is often woefully under explained. I want to understand it!!!
I still love the way it’s written and the world. The plot is genuinely interesting, even though it is the fantasy typical “big bad tries to destroy the world”. Some of the characterization is really, really good. I want *more* of that characterization. Sadly, it seems that isn’t likely.
This is the second book in the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy, and unfortunately I felt it was a step down from the first. The prose was still very beautiful, I liked how some of the plotlines set up in the first book paid off here in the second, and I was genuinely a little emotional over some of the events.
My problem with the series is one that might just be personal preference, but it has to do with fate. I don’t like when a character who has a certain fate ordained from previous stories, lives, or prophecy and that character seems to then have no agency or choice in what happens. Keeping this as spoiler-light as possible, there is a moment where Kevin makes a discovery about himself (somehow, it’s unclear) and he immediately accepts that it is now his fate or duty to do what he does. All of the characters are like this in some way. They simply accept whatever role the story is giving them and don’t seem to mourn their loss of free will. “Fate is inevitable” is a perfectly fine theme to explore in fantasy, which is filled with prophecy and destiny. But the characters accepting that because they are chosen for some role, they have to play that role out? That’s not something I particularly enjoyed.
Another, more minor annoyance has to do with fate as well. Specifically, GGK uses a lot of literary, mythological, and historical references that are extremely hard to follow at times. Sometimes, the lore in Fionavar is way overexplained for multiple pages. But in other times, it seems that it is assumed you will immediately know the reference to, for example, Arthurian legend or Greek mythology. It’s sometimes hard to understand why something is happening that way without going to look up the reference. Now, I am very ignorant of a lot of legends and stories, so this may just be me. But the specifics of being marked by some force or this person coming back are lost on me so often that I find it a little frustrating. And when it comes to Fionavar itself, the specific lore in *that* world is often woefully under explained. I want to understand it!!!
I still love the way it’s written and the world. The plot is genuinely interesting, even though it is the fantasy typical “big bad tries to destroy the world”. Some of the characterization is really, really good. I want *more* of that characterization. Sadly, it seems that isn’t likely.
I almost never read works in verse. Poetry is not something I typically find as impactful or enjoyable. Poetry in this form, as a story, though? This worked so well for the narrative. I found this fascinating and burned through it. There is a LOT to appreciate- the structure of the verse works beautifully to illustrate the mirrored nature of the characters. The characters themselves are polar opposites and yet so similar. They both want what they do not have. The ending gave me a chill. The story is packed with meaning. My main qualm with the story is that while it is striking, it’s straightforward. It’s a coming of age story in a way, and maybe if I was more like the characters in age and demographics I would have found even more meaning in it and a more emotional experience. As it was, I appreciate the amount of thought and craftsmanship displayed, and how captivating the story was, but the emotions didn’t land very strongly for me. Perhaps that would be different if *I* was in a different skin, seeing this from another point of view.
I almost never read works in verse. Poetry is not something I typically find as impactful or enjoyable. Poetry in this form, as a story, though? This worked so well for the narrative. I found this fascinating and burned through it. There is a LOT to appreciate- the structure of the verse works beautifully to illustrate the mirrored nature of the characters. The characters themselves are polar opposites and yet so similar. They both want what they do not have. The ending gave me a chill. The story is packed with meaning. My main qualm with the story is that while it is striking, it’s straightforward. It’s a coming of age story in a way, and maybe if I was more like the characters in age and demographics I would have found even more meaning in it and a more emotional experience. As it was, I appreciate the amount of thought and craftsmanship displayed, and how captivating the story was, but the emotions didn’t land very strongly for me. Perhaps that would be different if *I* was in a different skin, seeing this from another point of view.
Another great entry! This one was really twisty and political which I liked a lot. The main downside is that while it’s hilarious and has lots of implications for future Miles, I wish there were more emotional moments. I really enjoyed the work Bujold did for absolute gut punches back in Barrayar and The Warrior’s Apprentice, and I honestly crave more of that.
Another great entry! This one was really twisty and political which I liked a lot. The main downside is that while it’s hilarious and has lots of implications for future Miles, I wish there were more emotional moments. I really enjoyed the work Bujold did for absolute gut punches back in Barrayar and The Warrior’s Apprentice, and I honestly crave more of that.
Updated a reading goal:
Read 40 books in 2026
Progress so far: 40 / 40 100%