Quinn > Recent Status Updates

Honestly, I don't think the short length of each volume does this work any favors; the action feels stilted, the characters feel a bit under-baked, and the dialogue is only OK. It's still way better than some of the other "ComiXology Originals" I've read through (lol).

- it's free
- it's short - a single chapter (about 35 pages)
- the art style is ... not to my tastes.
- The MC gets the shit kicked out of her about 10 pages in. Oof.
- The dialogue feels wooden and forced. The technobabble also gets old, fast. Oh, also: why are buses necessary in the digital world (except to showcase all the wacky virtual shenanigans)?

- It's free with Amazon prime.
- LGBTQ rep
- It's SHORT (as in: less than 30 pages)
- The art is ... fine
- Tug of war is an /interesting/ sport to pick, so I'm at least curious how that part of the narrative will develop

It was free with Amazon Prime, it's self-contained (as far as I can tell), and the art is good enough to hold my interest. Fun, right?

Additional thoughts:
- Oh boy, LGBTQ+ rep
- The relationship between the two leads is more implied than explicit; it only appears in a few panels before it's solidified
- I have some thoughts about the ending.

Some of the dialogue is a bit overdramatic, but I guess it makes sense for teenagers. The story is sort of self contained, but it's clearly pointed to a larger narrative involving all of the Teen Titans. I probably should've been clued in by the title.

It's been sitting in my library for years, so I figured "what the heck?" There's LGBTQ rep, which is nice. The use of monochrome (save for the occasional character) feels a bit hackneyed, but it's not a deal-breaker. Trigon looks like a total dork. I feel a bit weird about the way bits of the African diaspora are casually used (e.g. the use of "voodoo queen") ...

[started 11/14/2023]

I felt vindicated by the NaNoWriMo rant at the beginning, even if I found it a tad repetitive. I absolutely have beaten myself up over not winning (failing), and I do have long-forgotten, half finished works as a result.

I'm curious what the work can offer beyond that. It's quite short (less than 60 pages), so I'm guessing it'll be a crash-course style work.

Dang Hibino, stop being so relatable.

(finished: 11/12/2023)

The main characters are activism and justice minded, and yet both have servants? Again, this story works best when you don't think too deeply about the implications.

Does the work want the /aesthetic/ of a past era, but to only engage with the realities and politics there-in on a surface level? (Activism against the wearing of fur, for example, didn't crop up until the late 18th century ... at least according to a surface-level internet search)

I get it, though; it's just supposed to be a fun, feel-good story with smoochin' as an incredibly likely outcome.

I hope you like cheese puns and references. Then again, look at the title (lol).

The faces / expressions are eye-catching in a cartoony, exaggerated way.

The work's setting is a bit muddled. Obviously, there's the fashion (and, though they are still around today, sexist laws). With that said, the work also features refrigerators and video game systems.

Started: 11/1/2023

Essays are unified in theme (love of writing), but jump drastically from decade to decade. Some essays cover the same topic using the same language. Then again, Bradbury dispenses incredible advice (e.g. about his writing process, how writing should be fun, etc).

I found Mickey a bit grating at first, but have definitely come around. The work provides a clearer articulation of why Murderbot left Mensah. The work plays at the edge of horror, but never really gets there (so far, no one has been grievously injured and the "threat" still feels mostly under control). Free has done an admirable job with the ever-growing cast, but I'm definitely starting to struggle a bit.

(Started 8/25/2023)

Part travelogue, part philosophical treatise, and part exploration of the self and memory.

The story is a dense one, and often requires my full attention. In other words, the discussion of philosophy makes it difficult to listen to this work casually. (I also found the work induced sleepiness on a few occasions; that may say more about my bedtime habits than the book, though.)

+
- Conversations between the leads are thoughtful and thought-provoking
- I'm enjoying the prose; it's well-written without being needlessly complex or explicitly "literary"

-
- ADR is still annoying
- It can occasionally be difficult to tell Dax and Mosscap apart
- With so little story left, I'm wondering if there's enough room to hit on all the various threads I'm imagining. (Then again, this is #1, so...)

I'm a quarter of the way through the book and the POV character (Dax) just ran into a robot.

+
- The (presumably post-apocalyptic) world building is a joy
- The main character is relatable
- Positive queer representation

-
- It feels like the work has more "punched in" narration than most other audiobooks
- (np) the first few chapters have a lot of time skips. This isn't inherently bad, but I noticed nonetheless

+ the work covers lots of different potential games and genres

- (np) the work doesn't work especially well on kindle, with some of the text boxes running over 2 pages. I'm guessing this wouldn't be a problem if I read the work on a tablet or PC
- I wish there was an easier way to sort through the work. I know tags are included, but a table of contents at the front would've been nice

This book was recommended by my fiction professor years ago but I'm just now getting around to reading it. Unfortunately, the political realities of "narrative dysfunction" are still very much present in 2023; if anything, the lack of accountability has been magnified in the so-called "post-truth" era. Still, the first essay wasn't all politics; there were plenty of suggestions on how to improve as a writer, too.

I can tell is sci-fi because the billionaire has more than one exploitable big idea. Also, the idea of hiring a servant is also casually floated. Yikes. Hideo's parents enter and subsequently exit the story as characters in less than a few pages. (You'd think the MC would reaction more to meeting them?)

Also, with only 30% of the story left, it really feels like the story is racing toward the conclusion.

(Back to the part about Hideo was distributing "free" contacts with the AR tech built in: it's not really discussed except in passing. Considering that this could be a world-changing event, it feels more like an excuse for readers to look past the exploitation behind every billionaire. Also, if they were being given out for free, why would anyone bother to steal them? The work doesn't really clarify.)

~ the depiction of the tech / "code" feels more like magic than science.
~ I have mixed feelings about the representation. EG: one of the secondary characters is paraplegic, but it is only mentioned in passing. On one hand, I am glad this person is depicted as more than their disability. On the other hand, I can't help but feel like it cheapens things a bit to not have it play even a slightly larger role.

+ a sprinkling of video game references (Leroy Jenkins, Mario Kart, etc), cast is as international as one would expect given the in-universe popularity of Warcross,

- some of the team names are weak (zombie vikings? really?), Hideo shipping out AR contacts for free sounds like a way to handwave the excesses and exploitation involved with billionaires (especially because it is only mentioned in passing).

Started 3/24

It's like "Ready Player One," but w/o the 1980s obsession and w/ a likeable protagonist. The tech seems hand-wavey, but this is meant to be more of a fun romp than hard sci-fi. Also, it's hard not to be utterly suspicious of the conspicuous consumption on display by Hideo Tanaka, creator of the eponymous Warcross. (You don't get that rich without exploitation, baby.)

finished 3/20

also, the joke Roach ends on is a knee-slapper

I wish the idea of self-destruction would've been better foreshadowed. I think it would've given the scene in the middle of the novel more heft (since I could focus on what was happening instead of wondering about new terminology).

I know they're both adults now, but I'm still a little weirded out by the "student-teacher" relationship being anything other than platonic.

Also, some of the chapter makers don't actually lead to new chapters; instead, they just seem like arbitrary waypoints. This was more annoying than truly off-putting, but still caught my attention well enough to merit mentioning.

Started 3/14/2023, audiobook from local library

I can appreciate Roach's eclectic choices in subject, from cadavers to the human digestive tract. With that said, I can't say I agree with her assessment of William Beaumont. Even based on the charitable picture she presents, he seems like a monster. I'm also over the apologist take of a person being, 'of their time.' Bruh experimented on a dude for decades.

The work definitely still has moments of body horror; the Sowers and Luo Binghe's blood both come to mind.

I can't help but feel like they did Gongyi Xiao. Aside from being a "good boy," I was annoyed that his story finished off-screen.

It's slightly odd that the 4th novel in the series seems to be more "supplemental" than a true continuation of the story (based on the back cover's description).

Beyond that, I was vexed by the the perpetuation of the myth that Victorian corsets were "suffocating." Sure, it was only mentioned in passing, but clearly someone needs a consult with Bernadette Banner.