koolkas

Introduction was interesting but became too complex right after. Not really my taste.

This is marketed as a heist book; it is not. It is a drama, a good one, but just be aware that the heist isn't clever enough to be a heist book. It's still a good drama and an enjoyable read.

If you like biological determinism, feel free to read this book, but personally, I prefer reading Identically Different by Tim Spector for its Lamarckian approach. Good entry level book with easy language though. I'm midway through and I hear the book gets political later so I'm not looking forward to it.

By the way, Matt Ridley holds a position in the House of Lords while Tim Spector works at King's College. Unrelated fact.

she pissed peeingly and urinated her excretions

Very fun adventure book!

Short and atmospheric.

Very heartfelt and sad. Sean Hewitt manages to describe the most complex of feelings with beautiful writing.

lots of really good stories in here, i liked Lives of Scavengers, Divine Carcass, High Maintenance, and The Same Thing That Happened to Sam.

alternate-realities, doppelgangers, demons, black magic and familial love. A bit convoluted book but overall a good read.

Almost stopped reading because of how gross it is but the ending was alright. It's most cishet book I've ever read.

Too painful to read sometimes

Possibly a satire for the Victorian era, possibly a prediction for the future? Undeniably, still very clever for its era

A slow paced and lyrical romance of grief.

I was expecting body horror all the way down, but the book was surprisingly psychological and fridge horror. A really good morbid fable.

Light and clichéd. Not a bad read but not the best either.

Let me preface by saying, I did not rate this 5 stars because it was my favorite book, I rated this 5 stars as a testament to the author's skill.

Not a light read; I went in blind about 1600's English Civil War and the number of characters, many actual historical figures, was confusing to me. This wasn't a book I could binge; many of the characters were assholes and to read in their perspective was stifling. I wasn't entertained but I was intrigued. Suffice to say, this is the type of book to be read in an academic way, with accurate 16th century depictions and characters who were written to embody a certain vice rather than written to be, well, entertaining book characters (Dr. Wallis: arrogance, Jack Prestcunt: delusional incel fuckery and insult to all men, Sarah: possibly martyrdom? Embodiment of the country itself?). Marco da Cola's perspective was the most interesting read. I found his squabbles with Lower funny. Lower was just funny, in general; his joke about pickling a body and how it might explode in a pyre made me giggle. But that was it, in terms of entertainment.

I think, the strongest point of this book is how intricately written the entire underlying schemes these men were involved in that led to the punishment of poor Sarah. I don't think murder-mystery is the correct term to call this book. A 1660 historical political drama would be better word, I think. This book did not have the pacing and the suspense a typical murder-mystery would contain, but it did contain copious premodern politics discussed, like the God-given king's right to rule, Catholics vs Christian tension (do a drinking game with the term papist, I dare you) and multiple references to this Cromwell guy. Everything leads back to him. Sarah's condemnation, in the end, is just the machinations of people in power. Did she kill him? Did she not? Doesn't matter.

tldr; This book is falsely marketed as a murder mystery; it is not. It is a 1660 post English Civil War political drama in which men in academia step on each other to try to obtain power. Do not read it if you're looking for a weekend murder mystery with characters you can care about. Read it if you'd like to fry your brain with politics involving assholes in academia.

I am only a bit through; it is a short story collection with no continuity and something you can return to when the feel for it arises. Some stories touch upon horrors I don't find as fearful, stories about missing children when I have none don't affect me.
The language is... verbose, though I don't find it particularly beautifully written. I appreciate the world building and the atmospheric tension.

It's very surrealist and existential horror. I'm enjoying reading it so far, but I don't find it remarkable.

Shakespearean plays bleed into reality. Thespians descend into madness. Pretty good. Not gonna lie i skipped the shakespeare excerpts, don't know why people complain about it I feel like reading it gives an optional layer of depth if you understand shakespeare. I dont, so I just ignored it.

Good writing and it kept me guessing

Finished. Don't know what the fuck was happening 90% of the time.

DNF. The prose is messy and not my thing.

The writing is a bit flat at times but it can be attributed to the translation work.

Evangelical ecoterrorists release a bone morphing, flesh tearing virus and the main character, Benji, carries a special strain. Very fun read with a generous dose of gore and body horror. If you like monsters made of human flesh you'll like this book.

I've been looking for a book focusing on non-romantic relationships and this hits the spot. A gentle book about siblings who defines their normal as each other. Highly recommended.

The first part was scary, the second part was creepy and weird. Third part was ok