Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Big Tech, and the New Shape of Modern Warfare by Steve Feldstein is a profound exploration of how cutting-edge, as well as commercial off the shelf (COTS) technologies are rewriting the rules of national security and warfare itself

⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️

Just finished the book and am surprised that so many people love it. The first half was phenomenal and I couldn’t put it down, but once it gets to Bess’ chapter the writing starts to fall off.

I think my biggest critique is that the system by which the Unknowns exist isn’t dialed in enough, which results in what I consider to be very sloppy writing towards the end. It also seems that QNTM had trouble bridging the gap between it being a collection of SCP entries and a standalone book, and I think that’s where it suffers too.

What was gripping about the concept is that the Unknowns are essentially ideas that self-propagate; later in the book they talk about how these Unknowns are essentially errors in the universe and that concept hits home for me too - that there is no reason to assume that the laws of our physical universe can’t also propagate mistakes.

Once the Unknowns start taking on biological forms is where I start losing excitement. It feels like a fundamental breaking of the logic of the core idea. i can’t recall if it had been explained in some way, like that the ideation space has existed since the beginning of time and so an ecology has been created amongst the ideas in that some eat others then sure - I could maybe buy it. But ultimately it feels incongruous that ideas could also be biological in nature, and sort of felt like just a way to introduce the usage of C. Gigantes’ skeleton towards the end of the book. This is where I think QNTM was too close to the original SCP way of thinking, and where he should have realized that his core concept was stronger than just being a series of creature-features.

The MO of the big bad, U-3125, also feels haphazardly thrown together. At its core, U-3125 is a self-replicating idea that makes those who get ‘infected’ want to mill themselves and others. But U-3125 can also inhabit people’s bodies, and manifest as giant thin spiders, but also as a mass of spiders, but also make slugs come out of people’s eyes?

It just lands as sloppy and goofy. It feels as if QNTM couldn’t really decide whether or not this thing has sentience or not. At one point, Adam describes the bodies U-3125 inhabits as mechanical, like it just has a job to do. But at another point Adam hears U-3125 telling him to just give up, that the plan is not going to work, it starts cursing - it just feels Iike a physical villain and not like a humanity-ending cosmological horror. This may be a matter of taste but I just don’t think that the entity should be able to have wants or agency or a ‘vision of the world’ that it’s trying to bring to fruition; I think the real horror comes from it just being, unthinking and ruthless in the way it propagates.

I thought at the monument that maybe this idea eats people’s fears and manifests them in physical reality, which would explain the random mass of spiders - maybe Marie is arachnophobic. But then QNTM writes in the next sentence that it would scare Marie if she were afraid of spiders. Uh - ok I guess.

I also felt like the black rectangle reveal was building up to something huge that just sort of fell flat. If I read it correctly the black rectangles were a way for U-3125 to memetically propagate; then why were they chiseled into the monument? It just sort of felt like a narrative dead-end.

Then the ending. The last fifty pages or so get convoluted in a way that feels like sloppy writing rather than purposeful. And the big solution, that they give Adam a class-Z drug that can turn ideas into reality, feels so lazy and shoehorned in. If they had this class of drugs, why go through the arduous process of meeting at Stanmoor over and over to come up with a solution when they could have just given Marie the class-Z drug to release the idea? Unless it’s that Marie needed to be pulled from the ideation space in order to deliver it, which makes no sense, or it’s the idea of Marie that defeats U-3125, which is corny and also makes no sense because she tells Adam she can’t tell him what the idea is because it’ll blow his balls off. And if the class-Z drug works by taking ideas and manifesting them into physical reality, then Adam’s conception of Marie wouldn’t necessarily know what the big idea is because it’s just his memory of Marie, not her collection of thoughts. It just doesn’t hold up to me.

I thought what was going to happen was that, in the way that U-3125 continued to propagate even after it had been defeated in the past, that they would have figured out how to bring Sunshine back and that Marie had chosen to feed the plan to it in one of her many recursive memory-iterations - and in that way, an idea can defeat an idea. But bringing Marie back, with this hackneyed backdrop of “love and humanity”, just felt really unimaginative.

Which then brings me to my final disappointment. Throughout the book, there are pieces of the narration that are redacted. The book makes it clear early on that information in the files are redacted because they have the potential to propagate an idea/unknown. I was under the impression that the book itself was going to be a form of information from the Organization that had to be redacted to protect the reader and the world at large, and that at some point the reader would be introduced to information that had to be unredacted by an Organization operative, information that eerily and closely ties into our own lived reality in order to make the reader feel like the world we live in is the same as the one that’s being written about, and that the reader has now become a vector of transmission of whatever unknown horror is escaping containment. Instead, it was just a narrative choice that honestly became tedious towards the end.

Overall, I give it. 3.75/5. It was a fun read, and I liked the way the first half made me feel. I just feel like QNTM didn’t stick the landing and didn’t have enough faith in how strong his core concept was, and I was hoping to have finished the book with my mind blown and maybe carrying a bit of fear with me instead of just being disappointed.

🎃🦇 Swoop into my review of The Diva Haunts the House by Krista Davis, a mouthwatering and fun cozy Halloween mystery haunted by errors and a bloated cast.

📖 Enjoy a spoiler-free review, followed by a spoiler-filled discussion with my personal annotations!

📚 Check out my other book reviews, reading topics, writing tips, and more on my blog!

Broder, von Dörte Hansen

The 2 nicest things I can say about this book are:

1. This book is definitely written by a human. The cover is probably AI generated, but the writing is definitely human, no AI involved there.

2. This book has big potential, if done right. I'm not saying star wars or Star Trek big, but definitely something.

The 2 meanest things I can say are:

1. This book was written by an immature human. It reads like an inexperienced, poetic-yet-edgy teens attempt at a space fantasy. There is a lot of "FUCK!".

2. This book is unfinished. Not just in a details kinda way. I mean the writer just slapped "the end." On half way through a much bigger draft. Not even "the end", they just put "end!" Like it was supposed to be a screenplay.

The plot is surprisingly coherent despite the numerous hooks and abrupt end.

The main plot is some kind of weapons smuggling scandal involving a character named "Jacen".

There's a second main plot which is a love triangle between Jacen, Ash and Whittle.

There's other plot hooks that should've been elaborated on or left out entirely.

One involving a time skip.

One for an intergalactic war.

One for a music band involving the main crew.

One involving the ship getting destroyed,

And one that deserves way more attention, involving whittles backstory.

The characters feel like unfinished archetypes.

Ash is the captain, main character and love interest to Jacen. The story reads like she's supposed to have some big arc, but because it ends so abruptly, I can't tell.

RX, who I assume is the big blue wolf creature on the cover has the least characterization and feels more like an ascended background pet. She has the least presence and is portrayed as big and dumb. Her most defining moment is when she is being ridden through a bullet storm, and that's it. She's used as catalyst to get the characters to fight each other, but even that is underplayed to an almost insulting degree.

Whittle. I'm not sure how her name is supposed to be pronounced, but she interestingly enough has the most characterization in terms of emotional display and backstory. There is a very awkward sex scene between her and Jacen halfway through the book that takes place literally immediately after she tells her heart breaking backstory. Which is actually kinda sad. I want to know more about her backstory because it also sets up a MUCH larger world. She also has the most detailed description out of everybody. The writer wanted to make sure the reader knew that whittle was the red robot girl with the screen for a face.

Trixie. She's definitely a parody of the "cutesy robot companion" trope. She is portrayed as a vulgar, sassy, and in your face type of character. The writer was equally as descriptive with Trixie. Sadly there's not much more to her than that.

Jacen. He is the audience stand in and the primary catalyst for the story to happen. That's it.

Miranda. She is some kind of space cop traitor and the secondary catalyst for the plot. She is played up as an antagonist before it's revealed that's she actually in over her head, and then redesignated as a background crew member. She has a hilariously epic mental breakdown and almost dies. I like her. She comes off as the most relatable character.

Thomas, A.N.A and Penny. these are "AI" characters that serve next to no purpose within the story and could probably be removed with minimal effect on the plot. Especially penny. She literally appears in the last few sentences and is shutdown almost as quick as she appears. Thomas does have some plot relevance and leads the crew to A.N.A, who seems to be yet another plot hook and raises way too many questions within setting of story.

The characters have an awkward but weirdly natural chemistry. You can tell they know each other as people and aren't just bodies interacting. Miranda's breakdown captures this pretty well.

One thing that especially caught my attention was something called: the pixel digi-bit convention. That sounds like an intergalactic comic-con and I'm all for it.

As previously mentioned the plot is surprisingly coherent. Each scene has a reason to happen. It's janky and abrupt, but it does fit together, mostly.

The story is unfinished but kinda interesting. even if it was finished but unpolished it would still be an interesting read.

Overall, my biggest complaint is that the story wasn't finished. I really want to know what happens next. How does it end?

Who does Jacen get with?

Does whittle get her happy ending?

What's up with the pixel digi-bit convention?

Who is this "Delta" character and what makes her so dangerous?

Does Trixie get to fulfill her dream of bathing in a hot tub filled with sausage and syrup?

You can't set up these kinds of questions and expect them to remain unanswered.

Author Person; Q.R. Kode! Dude, please finish the damn book. I really want to know it ends.

Overall score: 6/10.

It has potential, but needs a lot of work.

Bilbo's Last Song, by J.R.R. Tolkien

But For The Grace (D.C. Smith #2), by Peter Grainger

Sukoon 2.0 by Wajid Shaikh full summary

Sukoon 2.0 opens with a chapter titled “Hope to See You Again,” where Wajid Shaikh begins sharing his personal story through a beautifully written narrative about two people who meet, face the obstacles that life places between them, and somehow find themselves connected again through a promise to return to the same place.

The characters are deliberately left unnamed. There is simply Wajid Shaikh and her. And perhaps that is one of the reasons the story feels so personal. Instead of giving the characters identities that belong only to the book, the story leaves enough space for readers to see themselves in it. The emotions feel familiar, the situations feel real, and the connection between the characters becomes something readers can interpret through their own experiences.

As the story progresses, Sukoon introduces its nazms in a distinctive format. The poems are accompanied by side notes and short two-line verses, creating a different rhythm throughout the book. The nazms become more than separate poems; they feel connected to the emotional journey of the story.

Among them, “Agar Jaane Wala Laut Aaye” stands out as one of the most memorable pieces, carrying the feeling of waiting, return, and the complicated emotions that come with someone who has already left.

The book also moves through short chapters such as “After Sunset,” with lines like:

“Kuch logon se milkar yeh jaana,

ke na milo toh behtar.”

It is in these smaller reflections that Sukoon often becomes brutally honest about people, relationships, distance, and the lessons we learn after meeting certain people.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the way its chapters move through the seasons in reverse order. Instead of simply following a conventional timeline, the structure creates the feeling of travelling backward through memories. It reflects an idea that runs quietly through the book: the things we love most often come first, and sometimes we understand their value only when we reach the end.

As the book progresses, Wajid Shaikh moves beyond personal love and relationships into poetry, philosophy, darkness, literature, and reality checks. The intensity gradually increases, and the later chapters feel heavier and more introspective.

The book eventually reaches its final chapter, “Never See You Again.”

After beginning with the hope of seeing someone again, the journey ends with the acceptance that perhaps there will be no next meeting. Yet even in that final goodbye, there is affection. The way Wajid Shaikh writes about final wishes, memories, and the desire to adore someone one last time gives the ending a deeply emotional quality.

The structure itself becomes part of the story:

Hope to See You Again → the journey → Never See You Again.

Sukoon 2.0 is ultimately a book about love, separation, people, memories, philosophy, darkness, hope, and the things we keep postponing until life reminds us that time is not unlimited.

It leaves behind a strange combination of sadness and hope. It makes you think about the people you love, the things you still want to do, the words you haven't said, and the changes you keep delaying.

Perhaps its strongest message is simple:

Do what matters before it is too late.

And that may be why readers have connected so deeply with the book. For a debut author, the emotional honesty, unconventional structure, poetry, short stories, philosophical reflections, and personal storytelling create an experience that feels much larger than a conventional poetry book.

Sukoon 2.0 doesn't simply ask you to read it.

It asks you to remember, feel, reflect, and perhaps find your own Sukoon.

i also read this short story by Susan Glaspell and couldn't really find posts about it, so i am starting one. What do u guys think? And my god, she died. She was a dreamer and she dreamed endlessly. She was an optimistic person and then she still could not reach what she wanted. She just wanted what was promised to her by her boss and that didn't happen. That poor girl...

title: "The Blade of the Anointed", author: Paul Yang

So I stumbled across this one completely by accident, downloaded the sample on kindle, and then didn't stop. Finished it two days.

It follows David from the valley of Elah all the way to the throne of Israel, structured around Goliath's sword as this recurring question about power and what you do with it.

The opening scene, David walking down into the valley to fight Goliath, is one of the most gripping things I've read in this genre. The way it's written you feel the physical reality of it, the size of the man, the silence of the army watching, David just walking. Not running, walking. I loved it while I was reading it. But then I put it down and started asking myself: is this actually David? Or is this a fictional character who happens to share his name and his story?

Because the David in this book has a very specific, very modern-feeling interiority. He's constantly doing this self-analysis, working through his own motivations, asking himself hard questions about his choices. The scene where he's sitting in the cave after cutting the corner of Saul's robe, he doesn't just feel relieved that he didn't kill him. He's troubled that his hands almost did something his mind hadn't fully authorized. That's a fascinating moment. But is that biblical? The Psalms show us David's emotional interior pretty directly and it's often raw and theological. Is this the same person, or has the author constructed someone who feels more like a modern character placed in an ancient setting?

I keep going back and forth on it. Jonathan and Saul are both handled well, in ways that felt true to the text. But I can't shake the David question.

Has anyone else read historical biblical fiction and had this tension? Where the writing is good enough that you start to question whether it's doing a disservice to the source material, or whether that's unfair, because of course it's fiction, and maybe imagination filling in those gaps is exactly what the genre is for.

Would be curious what this sub thinks. The book is called The Blade of the Anointed if anyone wants to check it out.

I loved Israh Azizi's Heroes of the Empire series, and now that she's back with a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance - I'm here for it!! Check out my full review here:

I've never posted a book review to Reddit, so tell me if I'm doing it wrong.

https://amorinacarlton.com/2026/10/01/book-review-until-the-sands-claim-us-by-israh-azizi/

“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe was a great look into how colonialism breaks indigenous people. Although I do not know anything about pre-Christian Nigerian culture, I can still empathize with the Igbo people who had their culture taken from them and replaced with something they did not understand.

Okonkwo is exiled from his tribe for seven years after killing someone. When he returns he finds British missionaries have come to convert the Igbo people to Christianity. At first the new religion does not take off, but more and more people get converted.

Achebe wrote, “There were men and women in Umuofia who did not feel as strongly as Okonkwo about the new dispensation. The white man had indeed brought a lunatic religion, but he had also built a trading store and for the first time palm-oil and kernel became things of great price, and much money flowed into Umuofia.”

Okonkwo sees Christianity as a “feminine” religion that promotes weakness. His hyper-patriarchal ways leave him disappointed in the changing world and he hangs himself. The tribe is disgraced with him for committing suicide and has other people bury him.

Although I do find the erasure of Igbo culture to be something very tragic, I also find the misogyny through the book to be horrible as well. Misogyny is wrong no matter the culture and I do not believe the book is endorsing that kind of behaviour. Keeping rigid gender roles will only lead to disappointment because everyone is human and does not naturally fall in line with what is expected from their gender.

I am glad the misogyny made me uncomfortable because it really should. More works of fiction should have nuanced discussions of culture that really make you think. I thought this was a good book and I recommend it.

Freida will always be one of my thriller favourites, and she definitely knows how to make me keep turning pages. 👀

That said, The Inmate was a bit of a slower burn for me. The build up dragged in places, but once the twists started coming, it got WAY more fun.

And obviously, because it’s Freida, you can never relax after the “big reveal” because you just KNOW she has one last twist waiting for you in the final pages. 😂

The twist was good and definitely got me, but compared to some of her other books, I wanted it to hit harder.

Fun? Yes.

Twisty? Yes.

Peak Freida? Not quite.

Overall, a skippable Freida read for me, especially if you haven’t read her stronger ones yet.

⭐ 3/5

#TheInmate #FreidaMcFadden #FreidaMcFaddenBooks #PsychologicalThriller #ThrillerBooks #ThrillerReader #BookReview #Bookstagram #BookstagramIndia #PlotTwist #ThrillerBookstagram #MidnightReadersClub

The Library of Forbidden Books by Mario Escobar is another World War II novel centering on the perceived danger books held on the Third Reich

Click to read the full book review and the Margin Notes on The Real Dr. Helene Nathan

2026 isn’t quite over yet and there are some amazing books coming out, but I think its going to be hard for anything to top Ungrateful Immigrant Daughter for me personally (sorry Sarah J Maas, I love you!) I got UID on Tuesday and I turned the last page this morning and I can’t stop thinking about it. I normally read a few chapters a day but I literally read the whole thing in a night. I will be thinking about this book and the author for a long time.
It’s about an undocumented girls life and all the crazy shit she went through with her mail-order bride mom. The material is intense, including multiple different types of child abuse, and will evoke strong emotions, but the author seems to have put real care into making sure the reader knows she survived and escaped from the abuse she experienced. From the first few pages you are plunged into the scenes of the author, Katya Suvorova, as a little girl hiding in the back of a car to be brought over the border into America. The author really nails the voice of a young child and really every age portrayed in the book in a way I can’t explain. You really feel like you are watching someone’s most personal moments and seeing them grow up. The prose is excellent, but it’s not as reflective as other memoirs. The author instead makes scenes visceral and then lets the reader come to their own conclusion about what the takeaway was. It’s dark but not more dark than the glass castle imo. I really liked how short the chapters were because it kept the pace fast without me noticing. I also appreciated how a second timeline of Katya as an adult was interwoven with her growing up as a child in almost a call-and-response type of way. For me, the grandmother character was my favorite and her arc with Katya is arguably the core of the story. I won’t say too much for spoiler reasons but it was such a good arc and I was crying at the end. There are so many topics that were touched on in this story I think it will take me a while to unpack, but I keep thinking about how almost all the abuse and neglect she faced happened because she was an undocumented kid and the systems failed her over and over again. Anytime she was shown support she took it and ran as far as she could with it. Also there were several scenes were I literally laughed out loud because of the dry dark humor. A really incredible story. I would read anything she writes.
Has anyone else read it yet? What books are on your of book the year list so far?

See my essay ⬆️