Reviews and Comments

outofrange

dylankuhn@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 4 months ago

Reading for sanity, solace, meaning, meandering.

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Erin McKittrick: A long trek home (2009, Mountaineers Books) 4 stars

Environmental adventure that calms the soul

4 stars

A beautiful travelogue that manages to convey some of the challenges and insights of a year-long wilderness trek without ever over-digressing into hiker obsessions with food, gear, and miles. The environment gets center stage, perhaps leaving some curiosity about the inner lives of the adventurers, but at least one big change is gradually revealed.

Also notable for the absence of cellphones, which now gives a new depth to the peace and simplicity the couple experiences.

Christopher McDougall: Running with Sherman (2019, Knopf Publishing Group) 3 stars

Rescues donkey from dying.

I didn't know I was curious about donkey racing

3 stars

McDougall influenced me like many others with Born to Run and this book landed in my lap, so I went for it. Probably won't be as life-changing a read for me, but you never know. Taking a donkey's perspective for a while was a relief, and the portrayal of Sherman's community is rich and admirable.

Kim Stanley Robinson: The Ministry for the Future (2020) 4 stars

The Ministry for the Future is a cli-fi novel by American science fiction writer Kim …

Some thoughtfully imagined hope

5 stars

Well-researched vignettes and story lines portray some of the likelyhoods and possibilities the changing climate could dish out. The thorough research doesn't always equal plausibility for me, but I found it educating and probably a much healthier rumination than I can manage on my own. Don't mistake hopeful for utopian, there is no denial that if there going to be hope humanity is going to get it's ass kicked on the way.

Marlon James: Black Leopard, Red Wolf (2020, Riverhead Books) 4 stars

Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: "He has a …

Wild ass afro-fantasy

4 stars

I usually drop fiction that hits me with too much magic up front, but this was so foreign, irreverent, and unpredictable that it kept me curious. Having finished it I really feel like I've spent time in an alien world. I'm not sure I like or understand all of it, but the exposure forced my mind to broaden somehow.

Nnedi Okorafor: Noor (Hardcover, 2021, DAW) 4 stars

From Africanfuturist luminary Okorafor comes a new science fiction novel of intense action and thoughtful …

Engaging despite some stumbles

4 stars

Lots of themes here appeal to me with deserts, tech giants, and misfits in a Nigerian future I'm not equipped to imagine. There were bits here and there I couldn't swallow, but overall I'm thankful for the journey.

Octavia E. Butler: Parable of the Sower (Paperback, 2000, Warner Books) 3 stars

In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful …

Wrenching and frighteningly prescient

4 stars

We might not have quite reached this level of dystopia but having nearly reached 2024 nothing seems too farfetched. Butler shows that she needs nothing supernatural to power a story. This one will stick with me should I manage to live through the time period it is set in.

Octavia E. Butler: Wild Seed (Paperback, 2001, Warner Books) 4 stars

Doro is an entity who changes bodies like clothes, killing his hosts by reflex or …

Review of 'Wild seed' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Butler's way of introducing a superhuman premise up front in a matter-of-fact way then getting right to the implications for human characters and works well. You can feel strong undercurrents while engaging with a good story. Looking forward to continuing the series.