Reading Wednesday

[sabotabby]

Just finished: Leviathan Falls by James S. A. Corey. I've loved pretty much everything about this series, show and book, and the grand finale did not disappoint. I didn't sob as much as I expected to, which is fine because the last book already went there.

Anyway! This series was a master class in how to keep a story moving through ever increasing stakes (human sentience, essentially) while still keeping the narrative grounded and focused on character. Without too many spoilers, the dynamics of the Big Existential Threat mirrored covid and the inability of authoritarian regimes to handle it. It was in keeping with the series' emphasis on flawed but well-intentioned ordinary people navigating a grimdark world.

I'll leave you with my favourite quote from the book:

“I absolutely believe that people are more good on balance than bad,” he said. “All the wars and all of the cruelty and all of the violence. I’m not looking away from any of that, and I still think there’s something beautiful about being what we are. History is soaked in blood. The future probably will be too. But for every atrocity, there’s a thousand small kindnesses that no one noticed. A hundred people who spent their lives loving and caring for each other. A few moments of real grace. Maybe it’s only a little more good than bad in us, but…”

Currently reading: Plagues and Peoples by William H. McNeill. Yes, I am one of those weirdos for whom reading about historical plagues helps a bit. What's really interesting about this is not just how it goes through the mechanics of how plagues work, but some of the startling sociopolitical insights. McNeill is a white dude writing in the 70s and the vocabulary reflects that, but he has a very astute class and anti-imperialist analysis. Like he continuously refers to colonizing forces and rentier capitalism as "macroparasites," as opposed to the "microparasites" of disease.

Anyway, at first it was cheering me up because it was talking about plagues in terms of two-year cycles, but then I got to the bubonic plague section and yeah, it just really stayed around for a few centuries fucking everyone over.

So. Would recommend, if this kind of thing helps.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

I look forward to hearing TL squee. :) Actually -- I should check if she's read this one already. You two should squee together if that's the case. :D

[sabotabby]

Indeed. I'm not sure if it's a squee-type book—it's very bittersweet, both on a narrative level and because it's the end of a really great series.

Okay the last chapter gave me a bit of a squee.

[dewline]

I'm looking forward to Leviathan Falls, when I can afford it, or borrow it from the library.

[sabotabby]

I borrowed it from the library and was shocked at how quickly my hold came through. I guess they got a lot of copies.

[moonblossom]

Anne Frank wrote: “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” I think this echos your block quote.

[sabotabby]

Yep. It definitely had that "hope in the face of despair" vibe happening.

[moonblossom]

💛