Zack > Recent Status Updates

Ugh realized one reason why im so frustrated with this book: the author hid one of my most despised tropes as a major plot structure: unnecessary lack of communication

Leaving behind the western Europe themed fantasy for a recreation of the American West with wagon trains, gold miners, indigenous people.

Not Tourette’s, just on drugs and obnoxious

A narrator with Tourette’s (I think) with an f’word tic is pretty difficult.

I don't know why I'm doing this to myself. We'll see what happens!

Yes! Back from the library!

Ah! He just threw in a reverse Heyerdahl KonTiki hypothesis! Even referenced balsa rafts!

Giveaway winner! Whuddup!

And of course the “fake relationship” trope. But the magic system and worldbuilding are pretty interesting!

Oh man, I didn’t realize this was going to be one of those Chosen Woman to Save The World that Falls for the Bad Boy that gets made fun of on TikTok.

“Whence had the Polynesians obtained their vast astronomical knowledge and their calendar, which was calculated with
astonishing thoroughness? Certainly not from Melanesian or Malayan peoples to the westward. But the same old vanished
civilized race, the "white and bearded men," who had taught Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas their amazing culture” KonTiki Museum says he wasn’t racist, but product of structural racism

Pet death and it’s treated as more of a safety lesson than loss of companion. This book is a bit of a slog.

Oof devolved into some advanced civilization that populated South America before populating Polynesia that may have been white and maybe came across the Atlantic. KonTiki Museum says author wasn’t racist, but just that his theory of an advanced civilization that may have been white. And that’s separate from his widely disregarded idea of Pacific settlement from South AmericaYikes“He was from a different era”

Well, just killed off the one openly queer main character.

It feels like Thor doesn’t really care about South Americans, just cares about being right. A lot of White Mediocre Superiority in the amount of help they received and how they didn’t try to learn to sail the raft before being pulled out to sea. (How would the ancient Peruvians gotten into the Humboldt Current?) Kinda awkwardly racist since he feels these rafts were superior to Polynesian maritime culture.

Shifting gears from audio to print. There is too much going on and some really great political theory.

Waiting for it to get Victorian racist and has been surprisingly even-handed so far. I feel it’s going to change though.

Lucked into this being available on Libby without a wait. Heck of a voice cast! Mostly authors which is pretty interesting.

This sex scene feels like a sex scene from an 80’s action movie. Main characters have to have sex because they are the main characters and of the opposite sex.

These kids just can’t catch a break

Is it satire on late stage capitalism set in a fantasy world or is it just a parody of TTRPG’s and MMO’s? The changes are so fast sometimes it’s jarring and takes away from the overall story.

Here we go!

“Drug War” feels like the rejected treatment for a direct sequel to “Predator II”

Oof “The Pilot” is terrible. Like the author thought “let’s write something Cold War related so I can be jingoistic and kinda racist.”

The construction of gender in language is so good!

About 2/3 of the way through and it’s kind of a slog. MC makes decisions that don’t make sense to me. Maybe the author is experimenting with making us go for unlikeable characters?

Libby checkout ran out at 89%!

Horrifying that GoodReads has locked reviews and ratings of Neil Gaiman’s work now that the NYMag article has dropped. I’m sure it has nothing to do with GR’s parent company Amazon adapting Neil’s work for streaming.

This book! Sometimes horrifyingly dull, then punctuated by heartbreaking grief

Spotted in the free library at Jackson Hole Airport: “How to Lose the Time War.” Good find for someone!