Finished in 2022
There are 23 items here.
The Weird of the White Wolf
Author: Michael MoorcockFinished: 2022-12-30
Started: 2022-12
Status: Read
Felt the crustiness more prominently in this volume of some of the oldest Elric stories. The iconic imagery, esoteric mythos, and personal significance offset the grim nihilism. It does feel like delving to the primal roots of Elden Ring, Shin Megami Tensei, and of course a thousand D&D campaigns.
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
Author: Becky ChambersFinished: 2022-11
Started: 2022-10-26
Status: Read
I needed something comfortable after the harrowing trek through Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past. This science-feelings story seemed to build upon the argument Graeber puts forth in The Dawn of Everything — namely that human societies are wildly weird and flexible, with no single correct or natural configuration. Reading that primed me to be more willing to believe in the post-gluttony solarpunk utopia it presents, though heck if I know how we might get there peacefully.
The Fortress of the Pearl
Author: Michael MoorcockFinished: 2022-12
Started: 2022-11
Status: Read
Came back to my almost lifelong aspirations to get into Moorcock, ignited probably around 1989 when I saw my brother’s copy of The Cornelius Chronicles. I had tried once during a college librarygoing stint in 2003, then again upon visiting the prodigious Moorcock section at Powell’s in 2004, and then once again while making my way through Matthew Colville’s back catalog of videos about the history of gaming and geekery in 2021. The new Elric Saga omnibus editions are precisely what I needed to navigate the absurd tangle of titles and revisions. The story itself, being chronologically early but written much later, was refreshingly mature and thoughtful while still having the same surreally hip fantasy aesthetic. The Dream Realms in particular, and Elric’s passage through them, seem to be well-crafted allegories for common thought traps and how to avoid them.
What to Remember Upon Waking
Author: David WhyteFinished: 2022-05-21
Started: 2020-06-28
Status: Read
A Psalm for the Wild-Built
Author: Becky ChambersFinished: 2022-10
Started: 2022-10-07
Status: Read