“It’s joking.” Ratthi managed to sound like he completely believed that. “That’s how it looks when it’s joking.” He sent me on the feed, Stop joking. Gurathin sighed and rubbed his face and looked off into the distance, like he regretted all his life choices that had led to him standing here right now.
[ID: a drawing in soft orange, yellow and green, showing three people. Dr Gurathin is closest to the viewer, facepalming, burying his entire face in his hand. He wears a button up shirt. Right in front of his right elbow is a drone that seems to be looking at him. In the middle is Murderbot, staring blankly ahead, standing around kind of awkwardly. It wears a hoodie and has a drone floating right beside its head. To its left and most in the background is Dr Ratthi, gesticulating strongly with a forced smile on his face. There’s another drone hovering just above his left hand. He wears a tunic with embroidery on the collar. They are in a corridor on Preservation Station. Behind them on the wall are three potted plants - a huge monstera (behind Ratthi, quite fancy looking), a cactus (behind Murderbot, rather tall and straight, but with the tiniest blossoms crowning the top) and a cypress (behind Gurathin, neat but fuzzy). /end ID]
2.
To the humans, I said, “I’m going after the others, just stay here—” I felt a hard thump from behind. It was low and to one side, where a fairly important part would be, if I was human. I turned. Human One had the armored hostile’s weapon, the one I had taken away and dropped down into the module. And she had shot me with it.
[ID: a drawing in bright pinkish-red, white and gray. We see over the heads of five refugees huddled together in the back of the room. They all wear worn down worker’s clothes. A scrawny child with short fluffy hair sits on the floor, someone young kneels beside them. Their hair is braided loosely and their worker overalls are slipping down their shoulder. Three adults stand protectively around them. In the middle of the room, in front of the group, Human One has a weapon still smoking from discharging aimed at Murderbot. Murderbot is standing with its back to the group, a fresh wound in its lower back, looking over its shoulder to Human One. Its face is not visible. A bright white light comes from the hatch of the room. /end ID]
I had tears in my eyes… This series* has to be one of the best I have ever read. Alcott took me through the lives of three* women; Meg, Jo and Amy, from childhood to adulthood and showed how they faced problems and certainly in Jo’s case - showed how to help others.
For me, Jo’s Boys was my favourite (admittedly I cried most in this, but only at the end in one big gush) because I knew the characters and had gained the affection that a lot of readers find wells up in their heart (even though the characters are fictional…). I was physically pleased that so many of them succeeded in life; Emil survived, Nat became an accomplished violinist*, Dan found an honest reason to live*, Tommy finds the right ‘little woman’ & profession and both Rob & Teddy (and Professor Bhaer) support Jo so much - the blood family within the college family just give you more and more reasons to smile and laugh.
Without giving too much away, these are some of the best books I’ve ever read. They are wonderful reads and are full of morals, taught through every day situations - or one off, life threatening situations. If I didn’t have such a long 'to read’ list, I’d read them all again.
*SPOILERS
- I refer to it as a series because 'Good Wives’ is actually a separate book, however it is often put as a sort of 'part 2’ in Little Women, which would make it a trilogy. I see them as four books - some see them as three - each to their own.
- There were four sisters to begin with, but little Beth dies, it’s incredibly upsetting. :(
- Nat also married Daisy - his accomplishments and willingness to wait while abroad for two years convinced Daisy’s mother (Meg) that he was right for her daughter.
- Dan had been in prison and the only thing to keep him alive and sane was a little picture of Bess (AKA Princess - she was incredibly pretty, sweet, quiet, kind and everyone loved her), Amy’s daughter. This little affection gave him a reason to live for others, not for himself. We discover at the end he was shot and killed defending his friends, the Indians.
- Also, Nan stays in medicine, Demi marries Alice and gets an honest job in publishing and John dies. A lot die. Be prepared.
