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Decent so far. The prose has been a little strange for me so far. A little too much jumping around topics. I found the exposition to be delivered kind of clumsily. The premise feels pretty done-to-death but I am hoping that the world will be fleshed out in a new and interesting way.

LOVE the technical aspects. Old-school computer systems, biology, etc. top tier. A good portion of 4th iteration has been upsetting me though. The journey of Grant and the kids has had many encounters that should feel perilous and important but they are all given as summaries basically and the characters do not act as serious as they should for the situation.

Really good. I heard that the book is less empathetic to Hammond as the movie and I’m starting to see that with his mentioning of cutting out labor and his disconcern with the worker’s deaths. It is also interesting how this book seems to emphasize that corporate greed is the issue and not necessarily science gone too far like the movie.

Great so far! I like how all of the scientist feel real and you see their though processes and the little mistakes that are made along the way. I don’t understand the chapter formatting with the first and second iteration yet. Nor do I understand Malcom’s quotes on fractals. Hopefully I’ll get it all soon.

Excellent set up! I like the inner dialogue of scientists trying to figure out stuff against shady government entities.

Still not really getting a gloomy tone from this book although the content definitely is. I find it kind of cozy actually. I really like the fictitious lore of Gallacia and the subtle social bargaining between Easton and Denton was really fun.

Liking the relaxed and personable prose. Hoping that I don’t get information that will make me feel weird about being a barista. Maybe I’ll be able to romanticize an important part of my life though.

Interesting so far. I am getting a vibe from this book that is telling me that it is bleak but the tone actually feels rather upbeat. There are little witty lines and the characters have pleasant conversations so far. It’s kind of like a Disney movie that is supposed to have a spooky scene. You can tell that it is bleak for the characters but still feel a lightheartedness from it. I actually don’t mind this tone.

I like how this book balances hard world-building and cosmic horror in the way of soft world-building. Everything seems so strange and yet there seems to be an answer that is just too overwhelming to figure out. It seems foreign yet natural. This chapter was a little slow. Similar to the tower, the lighthouse and the journal pile kind of meandered but it did help give a sense of unease and tension.

Getting into nitty gritty now. I want to learn how to draw effective diagrams like the one for Rasputin’s Mecha Glove shown in this chapter.

Really good. I slowed for a little bit as the tunnel scene kind of crawled for a little bit but the reveal of the anthropologist’s death and the implication of the psychologist killing her was a really good payoff. Narrator trying to hypnotize the surveyor unsuccessfully was really good stuff too.

Very thoughtful and vulnerable so far. Loving it

Finished the intro, I’m in! Also learned a new word Polymath. An individual with a wide range of knowledge and expertise across multiple fields.

It’s getting easier to read. Though, the details have started to become a little too cumbersome. I really like the separation between what the narrator sees and the rest of the squad though.

Really invested now. Really like the way that the psychologist character is done. She seems to know a lot more than the rest. The fact that we and the narrator get to hear a suggestion that we are not supposed to reveals what the psychologist might be trying to hide. The narrator's inner conflict really speaks to my anxiety. The idea of deciding whether or not to share the contamination is such a stressful prospect.

I’m really liking this whole tunnel sequence. The details of the narrator’s inner thoughts is really cool.

Still really struggling with the sentence structure and prose though.

I really like the world building. The unanswered and ominous details such as the black box measuring devices, the tower/tunnel and the strange instructions from the Southern Reach give a similar vibe to internet horror/mysteries like SCP and Welcome to Nightvale.

I think the prose is good yet a little rough to get through currently.

I don't think I like the insinuation that the book itself is her journal though.