penwing reads (they/them)

penwing reads (they/them) reviewed The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Dispossessed (Hardcover, 1991, Harper Paperbacks)

Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, …

Enjoyable and thought provoking

5 stars

I'm have only read this once before and remember thinking it was heavy which - while not putting me off re-reading - meant it never floated to prominence on my to-read list. This time I found it, not "lighter" per se, but something, certainly. Overall, it meant that I really enjoyed it in ways I wasn't expecting.

Structurally, I liked the interweaving twin timelines (in a book about the physics of simultaneity and the past, present and future being present together was a nice touch). And this theme was interesting to see having just read The River Has Roots and its riddles relying on the acceptance of a past, present and future.

But so much to think on freedom.

penwing reads (they/them) reviewed The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Left Hand of Darkness (Paperback, 1976, Ace Books)

Comment by Kim Stanley Robinson, on The Guardian's website: The Left Hand of Darkness …

Love this book

5 stars

I didn't realise how much I loved this book until I reread it. It is the scifi book on gender in a very substantive way, but it is also, as the author acknowledges, out of date and lacking. Like Genly, le Guin and society learned and moved - one way and now, sadly, another...

It still shows misogyny in how Genly thinks of women and his (initial) attempts to put Gethians into gendered categories - perhaps exaggerated by the choice of "he" as pronoun (a great example of how "default" is not the same as "neutral").

But it is also much much more than just the scifi gender book. So much politics which must have had an impact on me when I read the book as a youngster - especially on patriotism and kindness - that I picked up much more brazenly on each reread.

Now to go discuss at …

I didn't realise how much I loved this book until I reread it. It is the scifi book on gender in a very substantive way, but it is also, as the author acknowledges, out of date and lacking. Like Genly, le Guin and society learned and moved - one way and now, sadly, another...

It still shows misogyny in how Genly thinks of women and his (initial) attempts to put Gethians into gendered categories - perhaps exaggerated by the choice of "he" as pronoun (a great example of how "default" is not the same as "neutral").

But it is also much much more than just the scifi gender book. So much politics which must have had an impact on me when I read the book as a youngster - especially on patriotism and kindness - that I picked up much more brazenly on each reread.

Now to go discuss at book club #wsf

penwing reads (they/them) reviewed Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer (duplicate)

Inventing the Renaissance (Hardcover, 2025, Head of Zeus)

The Renaissance is one of the most studied and celebrated eras of history. Spanning the …

Brilliant

5 stars

I don't normally read non-fiction, and when it doesn't it's modern feminism, queer theory etc. History is something I recognise as important but also something I left behind as soon as possible (I think, looking back, I was not impressed by UK school priorities and British-supremacy which pervaded the same topics over and over)

So, I thoroughly enjoyed this - even if I never type "renaissance" again. I also look forward to taking the information forward to an (eventual) reread of Palmer's (already) amazing Terra Ignota series

penwing reads (they/them) reviewed Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The original story of science gone berserk: one that changed how far our dreams can …

Great book

4 stars

It's a little slower at the start than I would like, and dense, but so good once it gets going...

penwing reads (they/them) reviewed Ludluda by Jeff Noon

Ludluda even better than Gogmagog

5 stars

The tension issues and bittiness I found in Gogmagog are nowhere to be seen here. I'd still like to have seen more of the cultures, but...

Thoroughly enjoyed it!

penwing reads (they/them) reviewed Gogmagog by Jeff Noon

From the highly celebrated and award-winning authors Jeff Noon and Steve Beard comes Gogmagog, the …

Gogmagog

4 stars

I liked it - it's sheer weirdness (and wyrdness), the river trip, the characters...

My biggest criticism is probably the structure. It's very episodic and we learn little about the cultures our characters come from (except in may a specific episode/chapter) as they're all the only examples on page. There are also many time chapters end on a cliffhanger or other high tension point only for the next chapter to skip past the resolution and tell us in flashback undoing the built up tension.