Category: packetcat reads 2022

Pages: 650
Purchased from: Kobo

It was nice to return to some fantasy set in Middle Eastern mythology after last week’s sci-fi jaunt. I loved the characters in this one, especially the main character Nahri. The complicated dynamics amongst the djinn was also very interesting and I’m sure that plays a major role in the sequel which I have added to my wishlist for a later date.

This book is now the longest I’ve read this year at 650 pages, it mostly doesn’t overstay its welcome despite its length. There is a significant amount of it that is worldbuilding which I didn’t mind since this is the first book in the series. I hope the sequel focuses more on the character dynamics though.

Pages: 319
Purchased from: Kobo

I really like the premise for this book’s sci-fi world but I found the quality of the writing to be uneven. The writing is at its best during the action scenes and at its worst when it comes to describing a character’s inner thoughts and emotions.

The best way to describe the bad writing here is: unsubtle. It is overly descriptive and dare say I bit cringeworthy especially when describing a situation involving romantic love. I don’t have a problem with romance in my sci-fi but this ain’t the way to do it. There is no tension, no buildup, none of the textual yearning that I associate with the best of fictional romances (see week 5’s The Beautiful Ones for a good example of this).

Pages: 452
Purchased from: Kobo

An absolute delight of a fantasy novel with varied and vibrant characters in a unique world. The tension between Nasir and Zafira by itself really makes the book so much fun to read.

And this is the author’s debut book! I really enjoyed this one and I put the sequel in my wishlist.

Pages: 275
Purchased from: Kobo

The first non-fiction book for the packetcat Reads 2022 series! This one was a very interesting look at the development of the iPhone and Apple’s design process during the golden age of Steve Jobs. I especially found the story about the initial development of Safari particularly intriguing.

Pages: 533
Purchased from: Kobo

I see why this particular book won all the awards it did but for me by the time I was 3/4 through the book, it felt like the premise was dragging on for far too long. The writing wasn’t the issue, it was good all the way through but the writing can carry me only so far through a story I’m not enjoying.

This book had a similar problem to week 9’s book in that while I appreciate the writing on its technical merit, the particular narrative it was telling left me wishing the book was over 300 pages in.

I don’t regret reading this one but at the same time I am not planning on reading any of the author’s other books.