A Hole in the Mouth

( Reposted from Goodreads. Originally posted on Feb. 29, 2024. This is a spoiler-free review. ) This book might be the definition of "middle of the road." Bakemonogatari ("monstory," as it were) Pt. 1 is an anthology containing the two short stories "Hitagi Crab" (about a weightless, acerbic girl) and "Mayoi Snail" (about a little girl trying to visit her divorced mother). The series this novel is a part of is lauded by many anime, manga, and light novel fans the world over for its literary aspirations, experimental style, and emotional resonance, as well as its mysterious and mythologically-rich setting. However, my impression of Bakemonogatari Pt. 1 is that it fumbles many of its attempts at literary quality and resonance, oftentimes due to the ways in which it attempts to be experimental. Eschewing traditional formats, Nishio Ishin writes the anthology more in the style of an audiovisual or theatrical script, comprised primarily of long exchan...

(Reposted from Goodreads. Originally posted on Feb. 29, 2024.) This is, in a word, a "gross" book. It is gross in every sense of the word: it's overlong, bloated, and preachy; it is guilty of extreme generalizations, of hyperbolic claims, and of grave delusions; and it is repulsive, exuding offense from every line. The one star I give to this book are given because it is technically competent in organization and citation, and because it is at least internally coherent; its content, in itself, is worthy of no such praise. One might forget that Savitri Devi is a furiously fanatical Nazi if she weren't so obsessed with demonstrating her whole-hearted, body-and-soul religious devotion to Adolf Hitler and his National Socialism at least once in every paragraph of this book. Indeed, much of her language is a somewhat less obscurantist pastiche of classical New Age esoterica and Hindu jargon, and it is evident to the reader that she has real conviction in and knowledge of bo...

How can I describe the experience of finding Envy's The Fallen Crimson ?  It is currently night-time in Lawrence, Kansas. I have spent something like 17-and-a-half hours awake, divided between going to class, reviewing statistics for an exam on Thursday, and getting shit done for grad school applications. My energy is at a low; the tiredness is melding with the natural decline in Adderall density in my bloodstream, and the math-induced headache is making thinking difficult. There's a guy behind me, in my scholarship hall's study room, that has been playing ARK: Survival Evolved  (by himself, but very loudly) for some two hours, now. This confounding variable does not facilitate my work. I have taken breaks, but they were limited. One time, earlier today, I worked on some ideas for my short story anthology project; the other time, I got three BUCK-TICK albums queued up on Apple Music to try to find some favorite tracks to add to a "BUCK-TICK Bangers" playlist. Late...

Rain and storm, dark night. Herculean winds crashed against the shabby windows of an apartment in a seedy complex, whose painted walls were damp and chipped. Each time thunder struck, the whole place shook under the vibrations; it was a terrible home, abandoned-like and decrepit. Every other week, some new critter would show up — a rat, a roach, ants, or flies, didn’t matter. Vermin, in a word.  And her. She was a small girl, and poor. Her parents had passed in an accident soon after she got into college, and the money had been slim since then. Getting her degree — a BS in computer engineering — was a tough ride: although her performance was good enough to earn her a couple scholarships, she still was only barely able to sustain herself in one of the world’s most expensive megalopoleis. Still, that time came and went; now, she was a software engineer for a “unique” gaming company, so to say. Pay wasn’t good, and working conditions were tough. Her most common dinner was ten-dollar p...

  (Reposted from Goodreads. Originally posted on Aug. 19, 2023.) A Red & Pleasant Land is a strange, beautiful piece of art. Its illustrations are raw and evocative, utilizing rough linework and vivid colors to really impress upon the reader the symbolism of the characters and world they represent; the language, though simple, never fails to bring about a solid mental image that is infinitely fascinating and a true wellspring of ideas from which to create interesting tabletop - or even literary - material. The reason I refrain from giving this book five stars is more of a practical one than a technical one; it is not a good gaming supplement, full stop. Yes, the ideas herein are great inspiration for writing and worldbuilding, but as a supplement designed to be a toolkit for running adventures and campaigns in, it is messy and faulty. It comes with a few good random tables, and some seeds of ideas to integrate into a world, but otherwise lacks... everything. Variety, directio...