Category Archives: Blacklist

Books you should not read because they are too dreadful. Anything I couldn’t finish is automatically on this list.

Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir (some plot spoilers)

Posted on 24/07/2022 by Roseanna

Why the fuck is this on the Hugo ballot? I know there’s normally a bit more entry into a blog post than that but that is the abiding question I have, now that I’ve finished this book. It’s a bad … Continue reading →

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Fire with Fire – Charles E. Gannon

Posted on 15/03/2020 by Roseanna

And so, inauspiciously, I begin the Nebula novel nominee read. The slate for this year is as follows: A Memory Called Empire – Arkady Martine (already read) Gideon the Ninth – Tamsyn Muir (already read) Gods of Jade and Shadow – Silvia Moreno-Garcia … Continue reading →

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New York 2140 – Kim Stanley Robinson

Posted on 21/07/2018 by Roseanna

And in contrast to my last book, this one was shit. I went into the Hugos slightly worried that I’d already read all the good ones (a lot of Nebula crossover plus authors I’d sought out anyway) and this… not … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Blacklist, Detective/Mystery, Science Fiction | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter – Theodora Goss

Posted on 08/04/2018 by Roseanna

I’d say it’s been a while since I read something this bad, but I recently read Autonomous, so that would be a lie. I wish it had been a while since I read something this bad, because this was an absolute pile … Continue reading →

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Altered Carbon – Richard Morgan

Posted on 01/01/2018 by Roseanna

What an unutterably execrable piece of absolute shite. I’ve been puzzling over precisely how to express my views of this book since about 15% of the way through. I’ve even been live-tweeting it (mainly as an outlet for bafflement and … Continue reading →

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The Dark Forest – Cixin Liu

Posted on 23/05/2017 by Roseanna

It has been nearly a month since my last post. And do you know why that is? Because this book was a SLOG. It was a CHORE. I HATED it. And I still have to* read the sequel for the … Continue reading →

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Too Like the Lightning – Ada Palmer

Posted on 28/04/2017 by Roseanna

This is possibly the most interesting book I’ve read not just this year but last year too. This does not mean it is the best book. When describing it to others, my descriptor of choice has been “godawful”. Or “dire”. … Continue reading →

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Red Rising – Pierce Brown

Posted on 05/04/2017 by Roseanna

This is probably going to be one of my most negative reviews of a properly published novel (free Kindle books don’t count). You’ve been warned. This book was, in short, absolutely godawful. It was unremittingly horrendous, and I knew I … Continue reading →

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Neuromancer – William Gibson

Posted on 10/08/2016 by Roseanna

First off – I hate this book. I properly do not like it at all. If you don’t want to read an entire post of my grouching with no positives whatsoever, you have been warned. Because I am struggling to … Continue reading →

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The Long Earth – Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett

Posted on 21/09/2012 by Roseanna

This is just a quick post, mostly to apologise for being a failure as a human being, but also to criticise the book slightly. I was /really/ excited about this book. I really really wanted to read it. I have … Continue reading →

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