Category: Media

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packetcat reads 2022 Week 15 – Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Pages: 432
Purchased from: Kobo

This book feels like a spiritual predecessor to A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine which is quite possibly one of my most favourite sci-fi books of all time. This book deals with the themes of colonialism/imperialism, identity and empire just like Martine’s book does. The books are obviously not 1-to-1 copies but if you liked Martine’s book you really should check this one out.

I found the way the book deal with the concept of split personalities particularly interesting. I am very curious how the concept is further developed in the sequels to this which I have added to my wishlist.

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packetcat reads 2022 Week 14 – The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Pages: 556
Purchased from: Kobo

Meandering and confusing, this one is filled with way too many threads spanning multiple timelines leading to a tangled mess that doesn’t entirely get untangled by the time the end approached.

The book needed some more editing to make the narrative a bit tighter because there is an interesting story underneath, there’s just a lot of extraneous stuff on top of it.

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Review: Tana Talk 4 by Benny the Butcher

This is a republishing of a post I wrote for my now defunct music newsletter. Substack sucks so the post is here now.

Each of the Griselda crew has their particular style. Conway the Machine’s slower introspective verses always pack a punch. Westside Gunn’s adlibs add much needed levity to any track he is on. Benny the Butcher brings the grime.

I don’t mean the UK hiphop sub-genre but the dirt you would find on well worn city streets. Every Benny verse drips with a grit that only feels authentic but also has the confidence of someone who truly understands the subject matter they are rapping about.

Hip-hop verses are often filled with braggadocio which in the hands of the best rappers in the game don’t feel like kayfabe but instead the real lived experiences of the rapper turned into words.

Benny is without a doubt one of the best rappers in the game and in Tana Talk 4, the Butcher delivers album filled with one gritty song after another.

Let’s dive into the album some by breaking down some individual tracks.

Continue reading “Review: Tana Talk 4 by Benny the Butcher”
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packetcat reads 2022 Week 13 – Velocity Weapon by Megan O’Keefe

Pages: 603
Purchased from: Kobo

A perfectly average sci-fi novel. I don’t have anything particularly strong to say about this one. The premise of the novel is the most interesting bit of it and all of that doesn’t come fully into play until the very end of the book which leaves me primed for the sequel.

I did add the sequel to the wishlist but I don’t see myself getting to it anytime soon.

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packetcat reads 2022 Week 12 – The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Pages: 373
Purchased from: Kobo

This reimagining of The Iliad is very well written and a easy entertaining read. Greek mythology is not especially an area of interest for me but this book makes me want to read more reimaginings of classic Greek works and specifically more of Madeline’s works.

Did I mention that this book is hella gay? Yeah, it definitely is.

I have another book by Madeline Miller in my wishlist (Circe) and I am definitely planning on reading that at some point in the future.