Ryan Berger > Recent Status Updates

Trying to get another recent release under my belt. This is great so far! Like an extended George Saunders story.

This just isn’t very good. Disappointment of the year brewing.

Tremendous. Not a clue why people are generally lukewarm on this one.

Trying to get back on the horse with this one.

In hindsight, I am genuinely surprised (and glad) that Larry Niven's warning about harvesting inmate organs hasn't come to pass, but you will not be shocked to hear that a guy who was an advisor to Reagan talks about the entire concept of organ donation as if it's woke socialist nonsense lmao

Deep sigh of relief that this is the first book on my school’s shiny new curriculum— a book I could teach in my sleep.

My opinions on this book have ripened and shifted, and may continue to change over the years, but I still love it. Hoping to write about those shifts in perception the more time I spend in this world.

Not very good, sadly.

Turning 30 today. Wrote about the 30 most important books in my life so far. https://ryanberger.substack.com/p/30-...

Getting marginally better, but it's still very apparent that Labatut doesn't seem to actually know much about math despite ostensibly writing two books about how it can make people insane and has not developed a trick to convey these ideas other than wiggling his fingers and make "OoooOOOoooooOo spookyyyyyyy" noises while turning some of the most important people who ever lived into cartoons.

My favorite Bugs Bunny cartoon <3

I kinda don’t fuck with Labatut’s entire deal? At all? Given the way people talk about him I think he is emerging as my pick for the most overrated writer of our day (one that people generally take seriously, anyway)

Miss you Terry!!!

Reading Gentrification: The Novel before moving to Brooklyn 😔 (this is sneakily some of the most fun 100 pages in a book I’ve read in a long time, woah)

Technically a Christmas book *bangs gavel*

The scene where that lady feeds Slothrop terrible British candy is maybe the funniest scene I’ve ever read in any book

UPDATE: I dropped my copy by accident and the binding completely fucking exploded

GRAVITY'S RAINBOW SUMMER

Profoundly upsetting!

"Faith of Our Fathers" by Philip K. Dick - Probably my favorite Dick that I've read. Wow! I cannot believe that there isn't a greater reception to this story. Not since Disco Elysium have I experienced something that so brilliantly marries the political, the personal, the psychedelic, the metaphysical-- all in a polygamist marriage under a great and terrible God. Ho-ly shit.

I'm becomming a full fledged Dickhead.

"The Man Who Went to the Moon-- Twice" by Howard Rodman - It's gonna be very uncomfortable in here if the best stories are written by the people furthest from the traditional SF establishment!

A story so full of nostalgia and melancholy where the invisible rockets are as transporting as the obvious ones that it seems unbelievable that it was not written by Ray Bradbury.

I enjoyed Bloch's contribution and Ellison's sequel story-- but both feel slightly maddening in the ways they're both individually underdeveloped. Two good stories, but they could have been outstanding stories.

Really makes me want to read From Hell by Alan Moore soon...

Did not care for the Aldiss story. Huge bummer because I love his essays.

So far, this is fairly disappointing! But there's a long way to go.

Skipping over the Philip Jose Farmer novella for now only because it's long and has a generally poor approval rating despite winning awards in its time.

"The Malley System" by Miriam Allen deFord - If this is the first iteration of this idea (a penal system where the most dangerous criminals relive their transgressions through tech) then this is really quite groundbreaking as its become something of a minor trope.

"The Day After the Martian's Came" by Frederik Pohl - Kind of pithy and does that "Something 'funny' is going to happen and the reader won't find it as funny but the characters will so just go along with it" thing I hate but blow the dust off this story and you'll realize Pohl has said something pretty undeniable about not only racism, but shitposting. The sheer POSTING in the wake of this would damn us to hell.

Flies by Robert Silverberg - A well-written but ultimately confused story with a suspect definition of what it thinks "empathy" is.

Interesting that it makes allusions to and the title is inspired by King Lear but I was getting more Hamlet vibes. Maybe this is intentional but I'd also like to have it confirmed by more than just a hunch.

Ellison is kind of sniping me from almost half a century ago in the introduction talking about the Science Fiction enthusiast that is constantly frustrated with the lack of attention and respect SF gets even after it becomes mainstream. I'm uncomfortable lmao.

BUT-- I don't think even Harlan would frame it in this way now. He wrongly assumes SF would go on to get the literary respect it deserves. Never has.

Sucker punched by Long Island geography jokes. Not okay!

Good Morning

At this point I'm pretty bored.

Wait this is fucking awesome

I know some of these words