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Comments
^^Very nice.
It's sitting in my cart. I will order it tomorrow. I have the money to do it today, but I will have more money tomorrow so that's better somehow >.>
Mass market paperbacks suck anyway, so I'm definitely not getting that.
The book can already be used as a doorstopper, it doesn't need more pages.
The weird thing is, I checked the dimensions and the MMP is thinner. Must be some amazingly shitty paper.
... Was it released by TOR?
Yep.
Well, that explains it.
Yeah, TOR paperbacks are notoriously shoddy.
I should probably read this book. I did like Mistborn a lot. But I always find it hard to start 1000+ page books; they're just so intimidating.
The book doesn't help by starting off with the single least welcoming scene in the entire book- the Heralds abandoning humanity after the Last Desolation.
If it helps, at all, the book is very, very deliberately light on stuff actually happening. It's invoked within the story itself- the story is about the journey, not the destination; it's about the people, and the things that happen to them between, and the way it affects them, not the actual plot, that has the focus of the book.
That, and the book is written much like Sanderson's other works are. They're very easy to read; they're not chock-full of unfamiliar terms, and the dialogue and narration flow very smoothly, not seeming artificial, and rarely requires you to go back and read something to understand what happened next. The flow of events is clear, and as it doesn't require you to keep half a million plot points in your head, it's able to throw in a lot of subtle hints that make all the future events seem plausible and natural.
Basically, the way the book is written encourages you to keep reading, rather than seeming impenetrable.
I would urge you to at least check it out of your local library and read a few chapters.
So, to try and start off a habit of writing a review of the books I read, I'm going to talk about another book I read recently.
In fact, it was an omnibus edition, comprising all three volumes of the Dragonmaster trilogy. Unfortunately, by about a quarter of the way through the third book, I was just utterly sick of the series, so I never finished it.
The Dragonmaster trilogy is about the eponymous character; Hal Kailas. Dragonmaster.
The series revolve around the titular concept; we follow the main character, Hal, through his career as a Dragonmaster, a commander involved in flying dragons around battlefields and killing other dragons. In fact, that seems to be most of what his job is comprised of; there are very few scenes in the book in which the dragons actually do anything to support the war, although most of the times that the dragons actually do, it's in a pretty decisive manner that swings the course of the war again.
Much of the focus of the book is given to Hal. Unfortunately, this works to the book's detriment; the world that the trilogy takes place in is very interesting, but Hal encounters very little of it, and is quite dismissive of much of it. This is particularly evident in one scene, in which Hal recruits the service of a magician to create a weapon that will allow the dragons to make a decisive attack, much like bomber planes. He talks about the laws of magic in a manner that gives us a brief overview of one of the rules of magic, which hints that there is many more, but never goes on to explain exactly what magic actually is and how it works, leaving it as a system unto itself which is used to power the plot.
That is merely a symptom of one of the series' bigger flaws, though; the series constantly brings up interesting details, but continues on to ignore them, or only uses them to support Hal's habit of making innovative changes to warfare that make his flying squadrons the ~best thing to ever happen to warfare~. It comes off as quite contrived, rather than flowing naturally from the story.
Other issues abound in the story. This story epitomizes one of my biggest pet peeves in fiction; making a story gritty for the sake of being gritty. There are many instances where I could take note of this- all the casual mentions of soldiers on both sides looting, murdering and raping without recrimination, or the few decent characters in the book being arrested for refusing to fight, or being killed off- but I would like to take special note of one scene, wherein Hal countenances the burning of a vital city along the river. With the city burned to the ground, trade for much of the entire country grinds to a halt- but in order to burn it, Hal kills many thousands of citizens. And yet, Hal does not get reprimanded for this, as it is treated as a necessity of war. This instance is one of the more brutal instances of this, but it also brings to light this flaw; the book, in an effort to be dark and mature, makes the characters seem more like villains, but without giving us anyone who is actually a hero to root for.
The writing style itself is inconsistent. It show events rather than scenes, some lasting pages, but many lasting only a few paragraphs, before there is a break in the narration and we move on to the next event. The flow of events is clear, but this method of writing leads to breaking the reader's flow, interrupting the story within the reader's head.
There are many other things I could talk about, but they would merely be rehashes of what I have already talked about. The series has many interesting things going for it, but these are only brought up in relation to how Hal can use it. The series attempts to be dark and mature, but it goes about it in such a way that the audience just sinks into a pit of apathy, not caring for any of the character's plights. The writing itself is technically skilled, but choppy and inconsistent, breaking the reader's immersion.
Overall, for what it is, a story about a guy who leads a group of dragon riders in a war, it's okay. Still, if you want to read a story like that, I would suggest giving Naomi Novik's series, Temeraire, a read instead. It takes place in the Napoleonic War, but with dragons.
Oooh, Rowling published a new book.
It's released late September.
I've been reading Oliver Onions' novella "The Beckoning Fair One" off and on for several months now, and I must say that it is one of the most quietly eerie stories that I have read in quite some time. While I often think that have a vague idea of where he's going with the story—and insofar my predictions have been fairly accurate—the fact that I can never quite be sure makes everything all the more unsettling. The approach is always subtler, always weirder than I imagine it, most of the horror of the tale stemming from psychological tension, delicate character writing and ambiguous non-events rather than any obvious supernatural source. (And really, a friend of mine hit the nail on the head when he said that the scariest idea in the story is that the difference between imaginary and real supernatural phenomena may be "purely academic.")
In any case, great story. A bit slow for some people, I'm sure, and pretty Edwardian, but for the patient this is an extremely rewarding little slice of slow menace. Highly recommended to people who like unconventional ghost stories or just appreciate well-written subtext when they see it.
So I'm slightly into the second part of Crime and Punishment, and, as I had expected, it's profoundly depressing, but . . . well, "in a good way" is a poor turn of phrase, but it's entrancing. Of course, not entrancing enough that I can bring myself to read more than a chapter a day, but I think that a chapter a day is healthier anyway, given my current setting.
On another note, hopefully The Way of Kings gets here tomorrow. I'll probably read a chapter or two of that per day, alongside Crime and Punishment and my school reading.
Oh, sweet, you bought it?
Well, I'm getting it as a birthday gift (September 9 being my actual birthday), along with money for some CD's.
Current reading list
^ Jeez, Foucault's Pendulum and the VALIS Trilogy? Talk about stamina.
I'm almost done with Foucault's Pendulum and I'm taking a break with some breezy stuff.
I haven't read anything in weeks. I should probably do something about that.
I read a lot. Usually something breezy and something heavy simultaneously. Of course I'm also super slow.
I finished The Wheel of Time: The Gathering Storm last week. It's a big improvement over the Knife of Dreams. Yesterday I finished Jurassic Park. It's much better than the movie. Now I am reading The Lost World.
@Malkavian: I am incapable of reading multiple things at once.
Anyway I renewed my library card today and put holds on The Purifying Fire and Changes, so hopefully I'll break my reading drought soon.
^I can't either. I can take a break from a book though. Happened with The Knife of Dreams... so boring in the middle.
I'd peg KoD as the point where the series came out of its slump, myself, but maybe that's just because it came on the heels of Crossroads of Twilight.
Knife of Dreams did get better in the other half, I must admit. Loved how they finally resolved the Shaido and Throne of Andor plotlines. The Gathering Storm works really well as the beginning of the end. Shit got pretty dark on Rand's side of plot and I can't wait to read Towers of Midnight.
Oh yes! Rand leveled up again!
The Way of Kings and Spice & Wolf volume 2 arrived. Haven't started WoK yet, but already impressed just by the physical book. The inside cover art is gorgeous, and...well, overall it seems to have good production values, which not enough people pay attention to with books.
Well, better get started.
Gravity manipulation? In a fantasy book? I like.
I was finally able to pick The Way of Kings up today. Haven't started it yet, though. I was gonna take a walk, though, so I can get a bit of exercise and listen to some of my new music. And I'll probably read another chapter of Crime and Punishment first, so that I don't end on the more depressing book (assuming The Way of Kings isn't that dark).
I'm also trying to think of other books to pick up (never mind that I still have Moby-Dick and Snow Crash on my shelf, on top of reading for school). Namely, a memoir or two of some sort (hopefully I can find one that's both an engrossing look at the human experience, or an abnormal one, and sequential to some degree, since I've come to realize that I need sequence when I take in any type of media if I want to forge an emotional connection more meaningful than a hanging-out vibe, a la K-On! or other slice of life works), and a collection of poetry from someone besides Poe (since I already got a brick of his works for $8 a few years back).
So far, it isn't exactly cheerful, but I've read far darker.