Weirdly I have much fonder memories of this series in hindsight compared to when I read them. I mostly got through because the audiobook narrator was so good and, as you said, things move along pretty briskly.
But I was almost angry at the end because up until the very end, it seems like way more of a generic fantasy story than it actually is. The story is way more interesting and clever than that. BUT it hides the fact for TWO AND A HALF NOVELS before revealing how clever it is.
Listeners to my podcast had complained I wasnāt reading enough into the second book, because there was more to it. But I couldnāt know how much more or what more because, unlike them, I hadnāt read the third book and was judging the first and second on their own strengths and weaknesses, not the series as a whole. And you canāt retroactively apply story knowledge to earlier stories when read later.
I liked the story and the format, itās a story of seven people telling their stories inside the story, the Wuthering Heights of scifi!.The world is imaginative and actually pretty fascinating, itās high scifi thatās pushed into the realm of ātechnology may as well be magic!ā and I really dig it. To be honest you could have probably made the whole book out of just the counselās story.
I really did not like the ending, itās like, to barrow from the storyās ending, as if youāre reading the Wizard of Oz and it ends right when they say āWizard will see you now!ā
Iām not interested enough to continue reading right now. Maybe later if I am searching for something else to read.
If you enjoyed the book I would definitely recommend you at least read Fall of Hyperion. It answers all the questions left open by the first book and ties almost everything up pretty definitively
The ending of the second book is was really disappointing and I took 2 days off before going on to the next book. Sure thereās a surprise factor to the cliffhanger but it didnāt fill me with a desire to continue reading. Last Argument of Kings had more interesting things happen in that single book than the previous two books combined. Maybe the series could have been a stronger story as only two books. My friends are making their way through the second book so Iām curious whether theyāll sniff out the setups that pay off in the last book.
Started reading Vampire Hunter D after a bit of a lazy winter. Maaaaaan is that a good book. really drew me in from the start, canāt wait to mine deeper in this.
Thanks going back to, and sticking to, my plan of always opening the Kindle app instead of any games on my phone I have read many more books than usual. Besides 2001 I have read:
Books 2 and 3 of the Broken Earth Trilogy. Not much that needs to be said there. Dat angry earth! Read this biz.
Team Human by Douglass Rushkoff - Iāve been reading his books since high school when I got a copy of Coercion. This is basically a manifesto/summary of all his previous work applied to our present day situation. So for me it was a quick read that didnāt offer much new. For anyone not familiar with his work, this is all you need to read.
Dracula - the original one. You see so much vampire shit in your life you kind of know what the deal is, but really? First of all, I gotta say that of all the vampire shit Iāve seen/heard/read in my life the board game Fury of Dracula is the most true to the original book. Youāre basically playing the book when you play that game. The book also has lots of freaky shit that most people donāt know. Dracula bites Mina and then makes Mina drink HIS blood! Also, other than the very beginning of the book where Jonathan visits the castle, Dracula doesnāt really talk, or even appear, very much at all.
The whole book is presented as journals/diaries written by the characters about their experience, only they have been blended together into chronological order. You know how itās so frustrating in a lot of contemporary fiction where characters just donāt stop and tell each other everything they know? There is a specific point where the characters write in their journals that they all shared their journals with each other and all got up to speed on everything and all share the same knowledge.
Also, it really shows its age. Itās extremely procedural and kinda dry. It could be made 1000x better by taking a swing at it with a big old editing axe, which is why I think so many people have attempted to do exactly that.
A Mouse Divided by Jeff Ryan was a fantastic deep dive into the history of Mickey Mouse. Although I think heās a little too critical of Iwerksā storytelling abilities but it was highly informative and had very interesting analysis of the war years. My new go to recommendation for those curious about The Disney/Iwerks story.
Currently switching between American Lonesome: The Work of Bruce Springsteen by Gavin Cologne-Brooks, a book none of you should read but I absolutely must, and John Brown by WEB DuBois, which is kind of the spiritual and chronological precursor to his magnum opus Black Reconstruction in America. So far Iād recommend it but iām only on chapter 2.
ā¦ But as yet you
are to be punished for what you have done. You have aided in
thwarting me; now you shall come to my call. When my brain
says āCome!ā to you, you shall cross land or sea to do my bid-
ding; and to that end this!ā With that he pulled open his shirt,
and with his long sharp nails opened a vein in his breast. When
the blood began to spurt out, he took my hands in one of his,
holding them tight, and with the other seized my neck and
pressed my mouth to the wound, so that I must either suffocate
or swallow some of the Oh my God! my God! what have I
done? What have I done to deserve such a fate, I who have
tried to walk in meekness and righteousness all my days. God
pity me! Look down on a poor soul in worse than mortal peril;
and in mercy pity those to whom she is dear!" Then she began
to rub her lips as though to cleanse them from pollution.
EDIT: Dat public domain. Letting me just post biz easily.
For some reason project Gutenberg is down right now, but archive.org has your back.
Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw is pretty meh. Picked it up because the premise of a doctor for the supernatural was an urban fantasy angle I hadnāt seen before, but the main character performs hardly any medicine and even then only works on vampires. The plot is fairly hackneyed and it feels like a much more interesting story was happening in the background, the main group is two humans and two vampires, while the side characters include a posse of ghouls, mummies suffering from arthritis, a witch, a demon, and a selkie.
Recently finished Circe and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Loved both of them, nailed the feel of Greek myth with a modern voice (voice not language).The obvious twists that you know will happen are handled perfectly; they arenāt foreshadowed like a twist but instead make you go I know this gonna end in tragedy, oh god. Circe covers the life and times of the titular witch, the scenes with Odysseus are excellent, really captures how a modern eye would interpret the attitude and actions of the famous āheroā. Song of Achilles is the best romance Iāve ever read, although Iāll admit I havenāt read many. The ending crushed me.
Been working my way through Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler. Very interesting account of American witchcraft/paganism. For most of my life I had been skeptical of Wicca and thought of it as new age malarky but this book does a great job of detailing the historical roots of American witchcraft and the tension it struggles being co-opted by feminism (that feels like the wrong word, there are plenty of legitimate feminist witches, but there is a real rift between feminist and traditional witchcraft).
Also listening to The Witches of New York by Ami McKay, been on a real witch kick I guess. About a 3rd of the way through the book and so far itās been enjoyable. The story jumps back and forth between several characters and meanders down side-plots/flashbacks. Feels like a story about occult NYC rather than any specific character. Been internally groaning at the overarching plot shaping up to be a chosen one plot but so far it hasnāt come to the forefront.
Blades in the Dark, which is dense AF. Taking an rpg-reading break.
The next Vonnegut novel in publication order, Mother Night. I didnāt know anything about it, but itās dark and darkly comedic. Many of his books are about the war, understandably so.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vol. 10.
Next are The Player of Games and, as Rym and Scott are closer to finishing, Pages of Pain.
Yeah, Iāve been threading through that in chunks. Even then I think I need someone to run me a session before feeling up for it.
Iāve been reading The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, after finishing her Broken Earth I had to go to her older works and this one is also great. Iām only on book 2 but it seems to be 3 separate fantasy romance stories that take place in the same world. Lots of emphasis on the intersection between the normal and the magical and how they affect each other.
Just finished Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlyn Doughty, a collection of anecdotes, experiences, and history of funerary rites from a cremation technician. Very interesting book with some heady humor and grimness. Iāve consumed a lot of gruesome media but some of the scenes in this book are borderline traumatic. Also a great primer for anyone interested in the history of funerary rites and the more modern history of the American funeral industry. Caitlyn has some very good points about how most of the western world largely tries to obfuscate death and dying from popular conciousness.
While not a short book, itās a quick read, probably took me a total of 6-8 hours. Would highly recommend if you are looking for macabre nonfiction.
