KC > Recent Status Updates

Happy to be listening to this book again. Audiobooks can be challenging for me to focus on, but every time I start I can’t stop. I find myself listening to Michelle Obama intently, her storytelling skills seriously enchanting.

Ok, so the last chunk I’ve read has really changed the game for me. I complained about the formula last update and I got a seriously unexpected twist that has breathed new life into the narrative. I’m super excited to see how this all works.

Really enjoying this cozy low-stakes story thus far. Newitz has done a great job of setting the scene, both in the kitchen and in a post-war San Francisco. I really like seeing their style shine through, especially having read bits of The Terraformers (though this is making me want to revisit).

So far, this has been the most perplexing case. I just don't know what's truly going on (the real heist) and feel like I need a lot more information about the other hostages. I will say, despite the change of scenery and dynamics, I may need to take a break from mysteries after this one just because there's a certain formula that can get a bit boring.

Gosh, this book is so much fun. It's just so easy to like and relate to the narrator, even if I'm not a clone-cyborg stationed on an alien planet in the name of science (though sometimes I wish I were)

Classic Ernest story. Not much to add at this point

5 stars. I now see why people rave about this series. Martha Wells does such an excellent job of getting us inside the head of the bored and awkward “murderbot” that the story follows. It’s really just so endearing and cute, I am so excited to continue reading!

Taking me a bit longer, but that's because the story is provocative. While reading, I'm also thinking about tradition, technology, capitalism, trauma, otherness, and acceptance.

My first time diving into Africanfuturism, and I'm so excited to begin with the author who coined the term to begin with. I've already become invested in AO's story and find the emphasis on desert and solar technology really cool. There's such a nuanced and personal understanding of the landscape, as well as the postcolonial system, that informs this narrative and makes it even more impactful.

I’m only a few pages in, but we’re already off to a great start. It’s early enough for me to tell that the author will return to his normal pacing with a normal amount of Ernest Cunningham breaking the fourth wall and his signature humor.

The thing about DCC is that it’s not the greatest writing. I don’t love it because it’s poetic. I love it because I’m enthralled by the absurdity, by the jokes, by the willingness of the author to just have fun. This past chunk, though, has had a lot of close-calls and tense, emotional moments that elevate it above the fun.

Because it’s a holiday special and much shorter, the writing is more direct; tell rather than show. There also seems to be less narrative explanation or even humor, with amateur sleuth Ernest having little to say on Golden Age mysteries or life in general, which unfortunately makes it feel rushed.

Despite the positive experience with the first book and my appreciation of the author's style, it took me until chapter 7 to truly get interested in the plot. I also found it to be weirdly self-deprecating for the narrator, and I'm not sure how that lands for me.