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Engels' writing ends w/ account of communism's history. Liked the detailing of splintering groups being scattered by the law only to reform stronger. Interesting assessments of US/Canada, but other travelogue unneeded. Transitions to other manifestoes, incl. from French Revolution that added great context of precedents to communism. Brit manifesto was complete fluff; far vaguer than the CM. Canadian manifesto next!

Staggeringly awful ending! The book vaporized the goodwill I'd lent it, making me wonder if I'd given Moorcock too much credit. So bad he went back & attempted to fix it a decade later. Even dialogue/exposition nosedives, with 2-3 twists revealed in succession in aon exposition dump. Gloriana never self-actualizes & isnt capable of carrying story if ending does so little with her. Seemed great 'til last few chapters.

More contrived naivite; Quire's grip on Gloriana is so sudden it makes her seem childlike. At least there's a reason: she was protected so much by training & environment that she's been kept away from the dark underbellies of society. Plus possible mind-control. Dimensions plot discarded; only justifies alt history setting. Flying through this last section; compulsively readable! Suspense high, excited for the end!

Tertiary character's interchangeability becomes a weakness, but it's negligible since the point being made about their corruption is simple. Una still a fave, but she made 2 dumb choices to further the plot. Still, suspense around her/Gloriana getting intense; I'm on edge of my seat! Hidden passages of palace SO interesting; hope we see more of it in climax. Third act starts with a bang, anxious to see how it ends!

Sudden 'whodunit' plot with dramatic irony; we know who's behind it all. Wondering if its missing out on potential intrigue this way. Still engaging; Gloriana becoming more interesting, with sudden interest in exploring walls/meeting the lowest rung of society. Mystery comes from identity of figure in walls (I guess it's her mom). Also Gloriana is a bi queen! Really engaging; thankfully avoiding earlier trashiness.

Unable to shake my agnosticism here; strongly agreeing in places, disagreeing (or wanting elaboration) in other places. Taking note when it prescribes things which the USSR acted against (material conditions/democracy not met before revolution; warns against taking away personal freedoms). Inevatability of communism, domino theory, proved untrue, yet these assumptions baked into theory. Enjoying the experience!

Alternate dimension thread so far uninteresting comapred to escalating intrigue plot & Quire. Disturbing elements continue w/ 2 characters being abducted & trafficked (though thankfully no sexual element to it... so far). Gloriana's palace a great setting; people living in walls means you never know who's listening. Slow burn build fairly effective so far but wonder if all threads can be satisfyingly resolved.

Masculine vs feminine: men violent, disrespect boundaries (personal and international), lament the relative 'softness' of Gloriana's leadership/diplomacy, which are linked to feminine. I want Quin to die so bad! Some moments are gratuitious/unsure what Moorcock is going for (fucking ape men). Good intrigue, though some characters hard to keep track of. Pretty disturbing at times, especially sexual stuff. Readable!

Prose better/less pulpy than expected. So far Gloriana is least interesting character in the motley crew we meet. 'Men writing women' aspects toughest part, but I feel its done with intention/commentary. Uncomfortable. Alt-renaissance; maybe alternate dimension? Like ASoIaF, wondering how much magic will enter story. Compellingly written, vivid characters, immersive descriptions. Shown what ruling is like. Promising!

Marx can be saucy! His takedown of a liberal pretending to be communist surprisingly funny. Engel's 'confession,' like manifesto, brings up several things I'm unsure on & doesn't elaborate like class gray zones (between prol. & bourg.), details on property abolition etc. Funny to see principles that counter USSR such as 'we cant rule by decree/not all class conditions necessitate revolution.' Difficult but rewarding.

Fizzled out in 2nd half; super predictable playout, no twists. Ravn's fragmentary style worked against, rather than with the story being told, unlike her previous work. Not much emotional intensity despite stakes. Prose at times excellent; other times overwrought or repetitive, like group dialogue scenes. Women's solidarity break down most interesting aspect, alongside gray area about good/bad magic. Undercooked.

Magic a part of life; superstitions common, blurring distinction between witch/nonwitch. Women's solidarity motif, yet book plays on your suspicions with one. Probably misdirecting us against her, making reader participate in witch hunt mindset. Later, witches are shown to resist patriarchy as best they can, getting abused wife away from abuser. Creepy, especially start, but real horror will probably come from trial.

Not sure manifesto is best entry point: presumes knowledge; takes defensive against misconceptions, rather than laying out communist ideology/goals. Though its defenses are strong & I understood it better this time than before (esp. private/personal property distinction, uprooting of family & indust. revolution), it still feels uneven/incomplete. Presumption of capitalism breaking itself down that I can't reconcile.

Intro: how popular manifestoes were, eclipsing religious-style catechisms as ideal format. Wish it got more into communism origins, since it's made clear M & E didn't start it (who did)? Presumes foreknowledge in places; beginner-friendly in others, (M & E's backgrounds). Some hints of my feeling that Marx sometimes oversimplifies (late stage capitalism, historical materialism). Curious to re-read manifesto now!

Part 4 excellent. Forster wraps sexuality up in other conformities of the time (class) as broad critique. Earlier scenes (Clive in Greece) clicked for me. 2 approaches to the conformity problem; the security of hiding vs the freedom of living truth, issues still grappled over today. Suspense as book examines how fraught it was for gay men. Maurice at times hard to like, at times admirable. Slow middle but very solid.

Maurice becomes worse in behavior, brooding, etc, once he loses the validation of a partner & forced to see challenge of being gay. Angsty & melodramatic. Don't like him much, but book is aware of this. Greek comparisons continue w/ someone saying being 'Hellenic' worse than atheist, later compared to Bacchus. Much slower than expected, though still lots of ahead-of-its-time commentary on gay struggles.

Plato references make sense, as much of dialogue between men similar to Plato's philosophical dialogues; ruminations on happiness, love, conflict etc. Far more understated/low stakes than expected. More sparsely rendered than Howards End. Confused by Clive's major turn. Interesting how class lines & other conformities blur/break down once Maurice accepts who he is--coming out opens door to broader self-actualization.

Brisk pacing, like vignettes. Conformity, allusions used to hint at sexuality & difficulty of coming to terms with it: how struggle/conflict leads to virtue (militarism); anger at society being permissive of transgressing religion but not sexuality; Maurice acting against his nature because it's what's expected of him (bullying his juniors). Pain feels real, turmoil vivid, though writing sparse in other places. Good!

Repetition continues, now with more narrative. Books clearly written by same person--same overuse of same 'Biblical' phrases, w/ occasional anachronistic 19th cent. phrasing. Laughing at constant reminders to 'remember' Christ/his sacrifice, Mormons called his children, follow him or perish... ALL BEFORE JESUS HAS BEEN BORN. Continues to lech off of Biblical prophecy, saying it was referring to Nephite conflicts.

OBSCENELY repetitive. Endless rephrasing of prophecy, what happens to good & bad people. White supremacy. Many pages of verbatim quoting of Bible. Even contradicts itself in ways bad will be punished: the proud will be punished if they won't humble themselves; later 'the proud will be humbled.' Funny that Jesus won't be born for 600 years yet Nephi preaches turning to Christ & describes his life. Losing brain cells.

Story of Joseph mixed w/ back half of Exodus as told by National Lampoon. Made me laugh a few times, especially when Angel eggs Nephi on to murder a helpless man when it wasnt necessary. God kept forgetting to tell them to bring certain things with them out of Jerusalem so they kept going back, etc. Funny integration of modern tech like compasses, allusion to white people being pure, ham-fisted references to Bible.

Intro got laughs,;eSmith's vision of Moroni who kept re-appearing because there was something else he forgot to mention in his instructions. Witness testimonies interesting; the 3 talk as if they didn't literally see the plates, but saw 'visions' of them because God put it in their mind's eye. The 8 more concrete about seeing the plates but taking their truth on faith. Circular logic aimed @ Christian audience only.

Premise very memorable & creepyl; influence of story immediately recognizable. Understandable why influences never adapt it literally, though. Poor prose, minimal exploration beyond describing premise, frat-bro sexism makes overall read weaker than it should've been. A premise should tell a story, not vice versa. Unreliable narrator most interesting element.Still highly memorable & worth the 30 mins it takes to read.

Very touching finale, deciding to not take a perfect chance at leaving just because the husband was still brainwashed; committing to only leave if she can get him out too. Very admirable! Hilarious that she learned most secret aspects of her faith via the South Park episode, and that ENTIRE Miscavige family bailed except for David, who's all alone now lol. Book made me less afraid of Scientologists; they seem feeble.

Funny how Hill invented sci-fi stories/borrowed from movies to invent past lives from which to confess during interrogation sessions! So cathartic as she begins to fight back, especially when they try to keep her from her love. Knocking down doors, screaming at people, threatening to sacrifice herself to cause investigation. Rooting for her, yelling encouragement at the book! Back half SO much better than first half.

Hill finally standing up for herself--against her parents who're now trying to get her out of cult! An irony that had me on the edge of my seat, rooting for parents despite understanding Hill's resentment/distrust of them after lifetime of neglect. Cracks in belief reminding me of my own progress out of religion, but naivite still center stage even if skepticism starting to bloom. Frustrating; much more engaging now.

First half: lots of lulls, feels padded, lingers on mundanity of Scientology life. Hill rarely establishes things in advance; a situation will come up and she'll have to retroactively explain its significance. Once fractures in belief & family show up, gets much better. Writing still very bland, but interesting subject. Auditing, behavior modding, groupthink on full display; very eerie. Still doesn't know about Xenu!

A bit understated in tone; reciting events with minor insight & sometimes over-explanation, reminding reader repeatedly that she was only a kid so couldn't question or know better. Interesting seeing contrast between 'regular Scientologist' and Sea Org; semi-normalcy giving way to life of forced deprivation/labour. Some things could've been positives if not so intense, like learning construction/commune life.

Gets darker as it goes; pessimistic about technology & human nature, grapples with mixed hopes & fears of postwar: middle class boom & technology advancements mixed with nuclear/cold war paranoia. Stories vary in quality & relevance, but continuity makes each important in its place. Sombre, thought provoking, while also charming & goofy at times. Part time capsule, part still-relevant warning. Solid but pulpy sci fi!

More fantasy than sci-fi, aside from Mars settlement premise. Full of magic, mysticism, & fantastical logic similar to 'man encroaching on fairydom' of old fairytales. Full of colonialism/Native American genocide parallels, racial segregation commentary. Sometimes funny (2nd expedition) sometimes very creepy (Usher II). Pretty entertaining, thought provoking, good variety, uneven at times but always vintage charm.