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The most messed up book I’ve read is Poppy Z Brite’s Lost Souls 😳

I read Three Days in the Pink Tower a while back. I'm not even sure how to describe my feelings about it. It was....devastating? I understand it was a "fantastical" re-telling of real events, but it was a sobering reminder of the terrible things that happen to women and girls every day. Truly painful at times and it has never completely left my mind since then. Thank you for sharing this list!

I'm wondering if you have seen the film White Ribbon? Based on your review of String Follow You might like that film. The story is not the same one but elements of your review reminded me of it. Removing Complicity to my list even thought I liked Wasp Nest. TY for the trigger and prose mentions on this. I have never read Lolita and have no plan to.

Hello there hey there hey Hello hey hi hey

I'm not sure which ones got translated to english but I think you might like Piergorgio Pulixi's books. I've read two of the series that got translated to french, first one was about ritualistic murders, very good read but the second was excellent. It also had vigilante taking on himself fixing the errors of judicial system, but he lets the public vote over life or death. There is also very disturbing element involving teeth.

may have touched on this before but american psycho created a huge controversy when it came out so much so that I decided to read it myself to see if it was really as bad as people said. It wasn't. Complicity is the only banks I've read and thought it was a good revenge story. The two most messed up books I've read are the manchurian candidate by richard condon and headhunter by a couple of canadians whose names I can't recall.⚛😀❤

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Yea for Rachel!

Night's Edge sounds good! Added it to my TBR 🩸

I just discovered your channel. I’m currently reading Nestlings and hope to find some more great reads

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"Woman in the dunes" was written by Kobo Abe and I read this very fine novel about fifty years ago. The author portrays a woman and a man forced to live their lives at the bottom of an ever growing sand dune and I found the novel dark and deeply disturbing but thankfully not violent. The author places you right there at the bottom of the sand dune with sweat and sand mixed together on your skin. This is not an uplifting story but the relationship between the man and the woman is most engaging. Highly recommended.

For beginners, I recommend starting with the two series by E. E. "Doc" Smith - Lensman series and Skylark series.

Concerning the "sexualization" of vampires, well, any society that demonizes sex will make its demons sexy.

🖤🖤 so good! Love your voice so pleasant to the ears! Thank you!!!

I've read 16 Stephen King books. IT is my least favorite.

Love a good haunted house book

Love peter Straub

One tip for The First Law series : the audio books make it sooo much better IMO

you must have reviewed dunsany, the gods of pegana at some point?

isn't Adrian Tchaikovsky always a big downer?

Great guide. I have never read a star wars book but i did see the new one by Deliah S. Dawson at Barnes and Noble the other day and it peaked my interest. However, I am not a fan of Star Wars since Disney took it over so maybe i will start somewhere else 😉

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I am not always sure how others define "space opera". If the term ,means stories that span wide space with lots of not ale ways sensible action. my personal favorites are Pandora's Star and Judas unchained, both by Peter F. Hamilton. They are the starting points for the 'Commonwealth series. I haven't read beyond these two hyperactive and fascinating storie s but enjoyed them on their own. If you crave stories in which distant planets are tied together economically and other wise by gigantic locomotives pulling huge trains through wormholes. and utterly disgusting aliens with no hesitation to liquidate opponents. this is a good place to start.

Thanks for the quick response. I agree with all of your comments. I would very much like to read it again, but there are other SF books I want to read and I’m a very sloooow reader. Thanks again.

Glad to know you're feeling better! 🐲

Glad you are enjoying the series. Just watched your first vid on it. I'm on the first book myself and found myself agreeing with a lot of your points, especially on how it's more Sci-Fantasy. I was very thrown off by the vibe because of this. Going in I really expected a more sci-fi vibe, and was a bit disappointment by that as it really did just feel like fantasy. Once I actually adapted to what it actually it is, I fell in love with it. Again, I'm only on the first book still but already love it. Have a great day, Rachel!

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I prefer Dan Simmons' horror - really enjoyed "The Abominable" and "Song of Kali"

I was underwhelmed by The Blade Itself trilogy when I read it. 2.5 stars for me over all. It isn't bad but I don't think it lived up to the hype

Ok but Murder bot is not a "they" and uses it/its pronouns and does not wish to become a human?? Like that was the authors whole point with this character was to explore a robot not wanting to become a human? I just find it ironic that you were talking about the characters in the books trying to assign humanity onto it and yet you are doing just that.

Honorable mention: Brave New Worlds an anthology of dystopian short fiction edited by John Joseph Adam's. I had to leave the book on a community bookshelf after reading it..if that helps you want to read it too.

glad you're feeling better! 🛌😴

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In what video did you review Anathem by Neal Stephenson?

Horror books I enjoyed Swan Song - McCammon The Stand - King Carrion Comfort - Simmons The Reality Dysfunction - Hamilton Mr X - Straub Something Wicked This Way Comes - Bradbury Wasp Factory - Banks The Historian - Kosova The Road - McCarthy Heart Shaped Box - Hill The Passage - Cronin

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Good list, you well on your way in your experience with the genre. I hope you get around to reading the complete Dune series, Asimov, Clarke, LeGuin, Lieber, and Heinlein and so many others who laid the foundation for so much SF we read these days.

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1984 was one of my favorites as a teenager. But, I later identified it as being basically patient zero for the third act being a monologue in which the antagonist explains why they're doing what they're doing. That trope really annoys me, because it doesn't feel convincing, and it reads as though the author was more interested in lecturing the reader about their ideas than in crafting a compelling conclusion to the story. I have some other gripes with it, too. For instance, I don't think Orwell really thought out what he was trying to critique super well; it's just a blanket statement of "authority bad," without really probing that too deeply. And, if you look at Orwell's biography, that kinda tracks with his own rather jumbled relationship to socialism during his lifetime. He was a guy who believed that socialism was only good if it corresponded to the very specific vision of it that existed only in his mind. I know you don't really want to, but I would recommend rereading Brave New World. I think it is actually pretty applicable to the current moment. The idea that overwhelming peoples' senses is a much more effective way to control people than outright authoritarian oppression.

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Manga hot take that might upset some people, but Berserk is good but not as great as everyone makes it out to be. If you take away all the shocking "GRAPE" moments and abuse, it's just a depressing manga.

Glad you are feeling better ! I'm not ill but I do have next week off work so I'm going to pick up Perdido Street Station. I've had it on my tbr for a while but haven't had the time to invest in such a chunky book . I'm looking forward to it !

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I read The Hike by Lucy Clarke recently. It was a fun adventure thriller that would be good for someone stuck in bed. 🛸🐉

I love your recommendations. Thank you.

Thank you for your measured review. I am in two science fiction book clubs and out of 14 people, none of us were impressed with the first book. I reluctantly went on to finish the next two books and felt they were better but needed a good editor on several levels. My wife and I watched the Netflix version and enjoyed the series and hope for more seasons. We are 20 episodes into the Amazon Prime Chinese production and it is fascinating to compare the differences, although it drags at times, it is worth the investment.

I love The Secret History. Some new dark academia for adults is needed.