The Every by Dave Eggers: there’s an app for that
Dave Eggers has written an enjoyable follow-up to the sharp satire on social media: The Circle
Category Books
Book reviews
Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock
The themes of Neal Stephenson’s story encompasses near future climate disruption, political upheaval, some near future scene setting, and a global stage. These are all neatly tied together through one man’s stubborn attempt to correct climate change and risk the…
Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky: Going Underground
Metro 2003, by Dmitry Glukhosky, is about going underground in Moscow. The claustrophic landscape is filled with the dark and the dirt of the campsites and the fear of the murderous creatures in the dark down the tunnel. Each station brings its own philosophical tale.
Granta 156: Interior view
A mixed bag of fiction and non-fiction but enough to entertain and ask questions.
Tracking the ideological shift in equality
This book is an analytical examination of the trans debate from acritical point of view. This is an intellectual anlaysis rather than a manifesto. As the subtitle alludes the book attempts to take the ideology of trans identity and apply it to what is happening in reality for people who change identity, children and puberty and the societal impact of men identifying as women i.e. sex and biology versus gender and identity.
President goes under cover: The president’s daughter by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
I read this novel after enjoying their first joint effort: “The President is missing” in which the American president, is challenged by the very topical real world threat of a deadly cyberterrorist attack. However, it lost its way towards the end when the problem is solved by the president making a solo trip to a baseball stadium.
The Martian befriends a Crab: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
I have read Artemis, which I enjoyed more than Weir purists, but not the Martian so I was looking forward to another interesting science fiction novel based on the near future. Notwithstanding that, many The Martian fans found Artemis a dreadful follow up.
Free speech and why it matters by Andrew Doyle – Checking our thinking
Early on Andrew Doyle sets out how the definition of social justice has changed due to a new identity-based conceptualisation bringing with it a mistrust of unfettered speech. He goes on to point out how this has given us the confusing and rare phenomenon: the well-intentioned authoritarian. With authoritarianism comes censorship – or as it has now been termed – cancellation
Granta 155: The Best of Young Spanish Language Novelists 2: An Indigenous Take
There were high hopes with this Spanish literature issue. Having read latin American novels before I've enjoyed the creativity especially Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Radar 3 May 2021: Granta, Interstellar, European Super League
Trying to impose an American model of financing football in Britain is a broken one