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I wondered if the second book in this series would be any less stereotypical in its depiction of an autistic protagonist. Nope.
And amazingly the writing has gotten even worse!

Oh god…

“The machine growls and purrs and whirs as mechanical side-fingers comb the earth like a plough on an ox’s yoke, but so much faster and neater and without blisters or strained muscles.”

His simile for a huge modern farming machine is… a plough? And it’s like a plough - but - it’s faster and neater… because it’s a modern farming machine!?!

I hate this writer’s sentences so far.

Page 3: “Every morning he feels dwarfed by its presence and quietly in awe of the ten thousand components that have gone into creating this piece of equipment more intricate and complex than a human skeleton.” Ugggggh Uggggggggghhgh.

Cause I’ve been reading more lately I’m getting pickier and pickier about writing that annoys me.

Page 1: “He pauses and watches as the hare takes long strides towards the safety of the hedgerow’s shadows at the far edge of the field, the taut sinews of its legs flexing.” Ugh. Ugggh.

Surprised to see this zine on Goodreads! Almost finished it - page 75 of 82. Really excellent zine…

Only a hundred or so pages left now. Way over-long for what it is. Ensemble of mostly-redundant and simplistic characters having versions of the same experience. Lacks mood and atmosphere, mostly. Good to read weird fiction set in the Peak District though, and the small-town mentality is well done (and done and done and done and over-done again).

Started out really strongly in conjuring up this fascinating other world and society, but it’s now become quite tedious. Hoping things get more interesting again soon. Not sure I care for how the characters are written in this book. They feel functional as vehicles for plot and worldbuilding but lacking soul. Struggling to see why the reader should care what happens to them. Amazing world though.

I did not understand this book.

Don’t feel like I understand what the author is doing in this book. Feel vague and confusing about the characters, plot, and setting. But love the writing itself.

The author pulled the loose threads together into a surprisingly interesting final act! I’m shocked!

This dialogue is so bad it’s painful!

187 pages in I think it’s still failing the Bechdel test… This is a silly book.

Really cheesy story so far, dodgy dialogue too. Hope something interesting happens soon… (interesting events have begun in the story but it’s getting more boring to read at the same time).

Some kind of missing-boyfriend haunted-smartphone horror novel. Mentioned in passing on Connor Habib’s podcast as a good use of the smartphone as central to a horror story rather than something worked around by dropped or damaged phones, flat batteries, or conveniently absent signal. So far it’s alright. Bit tedious reading the flashbacks about their early relationship. Narrator protagonist has a strong voice.

This eventually picked up again somewhere in the 200s. Really the plot is the least interesting thing about this book - it’s naff. When the plot gets out of the way the narrator’s introspection shines through and that’s often very well realised especially around the less dramatic parts of the story. Also weird how for a book about sex magic this one so rarely feels transgressive… much too safe…

Really enjoyed the first 60+ pages but the last ~100 have been tedious adventurey plot stuff. Go here, talk to this person, do that… Feels like a young adult novel (apart from the sex) crossed with a beach read crossed with a Nick Cage movie. The protagonist is the only thing keeping this afloat for me now and she’s becoming more boring by the page.

Fun so far!

Not great as an audiobook as it’s quite oriented to journaling exercises and worksheets. It was free on Audible if you subscribe anyway - so no big deal. It’s written by a psychologist and the autistic guy who runs Microcosm Publishing.

Quite a thought-provoking read really, although I have a nagging sense of incompletion or huge blindspots in the arguments just out of reach. Probably better to read as fuel for a book club or discussion group than just solo. I’ll try to come back and read this again in a year.

Reading my unexpected Christmas present - an entry level how-to book about reading tarot cards. I haven’t really thought about tarot cards since I had a deck as a teenager and it’s surprisingly interesting to revisit!