Here's some thoughts on things I've finished and felt like I wanted to capture for my future reference.
⭐: actively disliked this
⭐⭐: meh
⭐⭐⭐: enjoyable but not notable
⭐⭐⭐⭐: really great; would recommend
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: utterly brilliant!
Books read this year
11
Games played this year
5
📖 Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory (Murderbot diaries 4.5) by Martha Wells
Finished: 26th December 2021
Father Christmas thankfully did enable me further, but on settling in to read I realised that there was actually a short story (yes, I know not technically a book) available to read for free on tor.com. This one breaks with the series and is told from the view of Mensah. It adds an interesting second perspective on a couple of points, but there was something about the writing style and narrative that didn't feel like it fit as well. It felt almost janky after fitting so well with SecUnit's delivery. Still, a nice little addition.
📖 Exit Strategy (Murderbot diaries 4) by Martha Wells
Finished: 21st December 2021
This concluded my 4-book boxset, and left me sadly Murderbot-less over Christmas until I could find out if Father Christmas would further enable my binge. This one was basically non-stop action, but it also deepened its important relationships and had some really touching interactions. I'm trying to work out why I haven't given any of these 5 stars yet, so hell, it's Christmas, let's go for it!
🎮 Unpacking
Finished: 19th December 2021
I'd seen this in my Game Pass list and had made a snarky comment about how a game about unpacking boxes probably wasn't for me, give I still have some unpacked from my last move years ago. A friend's comment on twitter made me think I should give it a go, and I'm glad I did. A lovely, gently, meditative little game with a cute story you interpret pretty much for yourself.
📖 Rogue Protocol (Murderbot diaries 3) by Martha Wells
Finished: 18th December 2021
Another one done! This one started more slowly and I was thinking it maybe didn't quite have the same hook as the others. But no, after arriving at an abandoned mining facility (what could possibly go wrong?!) it all kicked up a gear and was flat out up to the end. The inevitable twist was pretty predictable, but maybe that's just because I've read too many pessimistic space stories and am suspicious of everything.
📖 Artificial Condition (Murderbot diaries 2) by Martha Wells
Finished: 14th December 2021
More of the same good stuff, basically could be a complete short story continuation of the last in terms of pacing and tone etc. Enjoyed the addition of ART as another very human not-human.
📖 All Systems Red (Murderbot diaries 1) by Martha Wells
Finished: 9th December 2021
Enjoyed this so much I'd bought a box set version of the first 4 before finishing it. Murderbot is just a brilliant character, one who I empathised with from the start, and I want to find out a lot more about. This is a short read and the main criticism seems to be how pricey they are for the length, but I had no criticism in terms of the content. Really enjoyed the setting and how it panned out, looking forward to more.
📖 Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Finished: 30th November 2021
I know this is pretty much blasphemy, but I was surprised at how little I enjoyed this book. I started reading it after watching the TV show, and for me it's one of the rare times that the show is better than the book. I found his writing style a slog to get through, the stories were unremarkable, and at no point was I dying to read on. It was also really notable that there's not a single woman (even mentioned in passing) until about 80% in. One appears with a non-speaking part, and then the next is a nagging wife character.
🎮 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Finished: 30th November 2021
Picked this up as part of Game Pass. Story was decent and would have been a solid 'fluff' 3.5 thing to play, but docked points because of the AWFUL interface. Seriously, that map. Omg. Some of the platforming was extremely janky (screw you, slides), and would really have benefitted from some fast travel. Or wayfinding. Or just a better bloody map! Outside of that, grabbed all the achievements and was a fun enough way to pass time.
📖 The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal
Finished: 2nd November 2021
Flew through this, really easy read as was the first book. Mostly set in space, which I really enjoyed. Liked the character development and greater insight into people's motivations, and how this book continued some really insightful descriptions of topics like privilege. Still found the romantic aspects cringy and clunkily written compared to the rest though!
🎮 Watchdogs: Legion
Finished: 23rd October 2021
Enjoyed the 'recruit anyone' mechanic up to a point, but mostly played as the spider drone as with previous games. Achievements are utterly, utterly broken, which was frustrating. Otherwise a decent enough game to pass time, and enjoyed visiting parts of London I knew.
🎮 Night in the Woods
Finished: 19th September 2021
Slow-paced, gentle to verging on dull at points game where you basically press X constantly and read conversations / walk around very slowly. However, I enjoyed getting to know the characters, and the themes of friendship, adulthood, and mental health.
📖 The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
Finished: 10th October 2021
Easy to get into, and enjoyed most of this. Felt it lost its way a bit in Argelo but figured that was part of the pacing. But then the last two chapters just lost me. A bit too weird a payoff, and an unresolved ending that felt like it just gave up. Also Sophie is a dick, and there were tons of weird relationship dynamics that just didn't feel believable or something to get behind.
📖 The City We Became by N.K. Jemesin
Finished: 25th September 2021
Wasn't sure I'd be into it initially as the first chapter or so didn't grab me. However ended up going with it and enjoyed it by the end. Not as "I must read more" as previous books by them, but would consider reading a sequel.
🎮 Psychonauts 2
Finished: 11th September 2021
Fantastic game. So much variety in the level designs (loved the casino minigames, in-book platforming, gameshow... ok all of it). The details were beautiful, and it was also genuinely funny at points. Great story building on but not needing knowledge of 1. Loved it.
📖 The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Finished: 2nd September 2021
Flew through this book during a week off. Really easy reading, some interesting characters, although wasn't a fan of the really cheesy and sometimes clumsy writing about attraction and sex between the main characters. A lot of the writing on anxiety and prejudice was more deft and resonated. Definitely enough to want to find out what happens next.
📖 The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
Finished: 28th August 2021
Just... pretentious stupidness. I stuck with it, and it does get better about halfway in. But it tries to be far more clever than it is. Poorly written, you don't understand half of what's going on, don't care about the characters, and reads as never having met a real woman as there are such caricatures.