By @edent · Book Review feminism feminist · 1,200 words
In Feminist City, through history, personal experience and popular culture Leslie Kern exposes what is hidden in plain sight: the social inequalities built into our cities, homes, and neighborhoods. Kern offers an alternative vision of the feminist city. Taking on fear, motherhood, friendship, activism, and the joys and perils of being alone, Kern maps the […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review Doctor Who · 350 words
The TARDIS lands in the Lancashire village of Bilehurst Cragg in the 17th century, and the Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yaz soon become embroiled in a witch trial run by the local landowner. Fear stalks the land, and the arrival of King James I only serves to intensify the witch hunt. But the Doctor soon […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review · 250 words
In Doughnut Economics, Oxford academic Kate Raworth lays out the seven deadly mistakes of economics and offers a radical re-envisioning of the system that has brought us to the point of ruin. Moving beyond the myths of ‘rational economic man’ and unlimited growth, Doughnut Economics zeroes in on the sweet spot: a system that meets […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review china chinese · 200 words
I've had a long-held fascination with China. I took Mandarin at University and, a few years ago, I was lucky enough to go to Beijing. So I was excited to pick up this book of short stories about modern China. It is a mixed lot of tales about Chinese people both in and outside of […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review history · 300 words
This is an amazingly detailed look at the life of Neanderthals. It covers their habits, habitats, and human-like behaviour. We get a full history of the science of Neanderthal studies, and an overview of the cutting edge laser-powered science that is happening today. It is slyly and subtly funny - with little pop culture call […]
Continue reading →By @edent · BlackSciFiShortStories Book Review NetGalley Sci Fi · 2 comments · 600 words
This is a delightful collection of short stories. It starts with a scholarly introduction to the history of Black Sci-Fi. And, for once, Black isn't just limited to mean "African American". We get a panoply of authors - both modern and historic. Some of the historic stories - especially W. E. B. Du Bois' The […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review Mary Robinette Kowal · 1 comment · 350 words
Let's get this out of the way first. I freakin' love Mary Robinette Kowal's Lady Astronaut Series. She has created this amazingly rich and detailed universe, full of fleshed-out characters engaging in daring-do. So when this earlier novel was cheap on Amazon, I picked it up. The "Glamourist Histories" novels were written several years before […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review · 250 words
Camille, a revolutionary's daughter, leads a band of outcasts – a runaway girl, a deserter, an aristocrat in hiding. As the Battalion des Morts they cheat death, saving those about to meet a bloody end at the blade of Madame La Guillotine. But their latest rescue is not what she seems. The girl's no aristocrat, […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Becky Chambers Book Review Sci Fi wayfarers · 8 comments · 300 words
A bit of a random one this. My friend David Carrington bought me it as a birthday present. It is AMAZING! Absolutely everything a modern sci-fi novel should be. It has aliens who are alien! Not just because they have pointy ears, but because their cultural values are radically different from humans. And us humans, […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review · 1 comment · 350 words
This is an entertaining, useful, and thoroughly tedious book. Imagine your time machine went wrong and you were stranded in the past. How could you "invent" the technology needed to improve the world, At its heart is a potted history of every piece of technology required for modern civilisation. Short and entertaining chapters which discuss […]
Continue reading →