Reviews and Comments

Ian Brown

igb@books.hccp.org

Joined 1 year, 7 months ago

XML apologist. Erlang enthusiast. Currently JVMs & Performance stuff at Netflix. Previously JVMs & performative stuff at Twitter. He/him.

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Character Limit (Hardcover, 2024, Penguin Publishing Group) No rating

The billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become inextricable from the social media …

A pretty good account, though it focuses on much of the high-level C-suite shenanigans as opposed to Zöe Schaffer’s excellent, employee-focused "Hardcore Engineering". Worth a read for sure.

Silverview (Paperback, 2022, Penguin Books) 5 stars

A Perfect End

5 stars

Magnus Pym and Edward Avon and Rick blend together with a funeral at the end of all of it. Sprinkle a little Nietzsche on top and you have a wonderful wrap up of the John le Carré extended universe. It all ends, of course, with a bureaucratic whimper. Anyway, it is Cornwall at his best.

Joe Country (2020, Soho Press, Incorporated) 4 stars

A rebound from the previous book.

4 stars

I was relieved to have this "Slow Horses" installment find steadier footing. The dialogue was much better than the last outing (and funnier lines). The plot was a bit thin, but not too far beyond belief. Quite a body count racking up, however.

London Rules (2019, Soho Press, Incorporated) 2 stars

"London Rules might not be written down, but everyone knows rule one: Cover your arse. …

Le Carré would never.

2 stars

A fascinating open, but the writing and subsequent plot felt a bit phoned in. The dialog (and in particular Lamb's banter) was a bit forced and predictable. Anyway, a bit of a disappointment given the strong showing of the first four books. I'm cautiously optimistic that Herron picks up again, but going to say this one should be put out to pasture.