My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined. After book 1 was so good, how is the sequel so bad?
Now, I've very aware that this is going to My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined. After book 1 was so good, how is the sequel so bad?
Now, I've very aware that this is going to be an unpopular opinion. The main difference between book 1 and 2 is that while book 1 was very character-led, this one is more focused on exploring the ideological war of knowledge thru yanking the characters around. You can see the emphasis in other people's reviews on praising the brain-breaking worldbuilding and thematic depth. That is not going to be in this one.
I think a microcosm for why I hated this book is in our new POV character: Celcha. She is a slave (with a new fantasy race) who is put to work in the library. There is supposed to be a mystery with her but the book blatantly gives too many hints and spoils itself. No more intrigue. Can you root for her? Also no, because she doesn't do anything but react. Oh no, slavery is bad! She gets manipulated, and none of her decisions mean anything because she isn't really making any informed decisions. Celcha's plotline is consistently boring, and adds nothing to the narrative except thematic depth and worldbuilding.
I need some actual character development and compelling plot to enjoy something, and this book gave me nothing. In the end, it felt like we were in the same spot as the beginning of the book. Except I care much less about all of the characters.
This book also tried to pull off not one but two romances. Not enough really given for me to believe in them or be invested.
Thanks to Netgalley and Ace for a copy to review. All opinions are my own....more
Some really cool premises. But, wow, most of them have terribly unsatisfying endings.
Tower of Babylon 2� Understand 2� Division by Zero 3� Story of YourSome really cool premises. But, wow, most of them have terribly unsatisfying endings.
Tower of Babylon 2� Understand 2� Division by Zero 3� Story of Your Life 4� Seventy-two letters 2� (least favorite) The Evolution of Human Science 3� Hell is the Absence of God 3� Liking What You See 4� (my favorite)...more
The worst use of 1st person narration I've ever seen: two narrators that have the same voice and are always together, and we don't get tSuper boring.
The worst use of 1st person narration I've ever seen: two narrators that have the same voice and are always together, and we don't get to hear about their inner thoughts or emotions. And the book gives us no indication of when we've switched perspective; I was consistently confused and unmoored.
The Ferryman is the story of Proctor, a man who lives in a "perfect" society, where people are scientifically reborn over and over as they do their swThe Ferryman is the story of Proctor, a man who lives in a "perfect" society, where people are scientifically reborn over and over as they do their sweet nothings on a secluded island. If course, Proctor starts to find the dark truths behind his not so perfect life, and the story gets more twisty and complicated from there.
What this book reminded me most of, in tone and premise, was The Giver. We've got this protagonist that is listless and sad, and the more they discover about their not-so-perfect world, the more melancholy things get. Throw in some mystery-box and isolation feelings of Lost, and what you get is this book.
After a few chapters, none of the characters felt real to me. They all felt like satellites to Proctor, doing the jobs that the narrative needed of them. The wife is micromanaging, the mother in law is part of the evil conspiracy, the trainee is much too clingy and makes the job harder; but none of them seem to have any emotions or independent thoughts.
It's a fine book. Perhaps a little too long, a little too boring. I would recommend it to fans of slow dystopian tales.
A video review including this book will be on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, at
Thanks to Ballentine Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own....more
All of the collections of words we refer to as sentences in this book have at least twice as many words as they require in order to convey the point wAll of the collections of words we refer to as sentences in this book have at least twice as many words as they require in order to convey the point which they wish to make, and yet, in a bamboozling turn of events, the work in question itself (Lord of Light, by Roger Zelazny) somehow still does not sufficiently explain the context, relative positioning, setting, or emotional states required to understand what is happening in any given moment where anything transpires.
This novel used my own curiosity as fuel and I'm completely obsessed with it. It's a masterpiece. It's weird in the best way and all the little confusThis novel used my own curiosity as fuel and I'm completely obsessed with it. It's a masterpiece. It's weird in the best way and all the little confusions add up to a stunningly good ending.
Update: I have now read this book twice in the last 48 hours....more
This book reads like a collection of interconnected short stories. Each chapter, we are jumping POV to a different denizen of the city with fingers inThis book reads like a collection of interconnected short stories. Each chapter, we are jumping POV to a different denizen of the city with fingers in different pies. As the book continues, the stories become more interconnected and we get repeats of the same characters.
(Yes, I know that what I'm describing is just a multi-POV novel. However, it really does feel like each chapter is a short story, and I think that's the correct expectation to have. If you're expecting a novel, you're probably going to be disappointed. If you're expecting a collecting of highly interconnected short stories, you might just have a great time.) I would expect fans of Malazan to have a blast with this book.
City of Last Chances is a portrait of a magical and political city. It's a melting pot of cultures, including freshly-arrived invaders. There are districts under different curses, and bars that have portals to other realms in the back. It's a story about impossible quests, cultural identity, duty, and faith.
This book made me laugh several times. It's delightfully witty.
In the beginning, I really struggled with this book. The disconnect between each chapter/short story made it impossible for me to engage with the plot. However, I then made a decision that changed it all around. I chose a character, and searched the ebook for chapters featuring that character. I read those chapters, following a somewhat cohesive plotline that circled that character. And then I chose another character, until I had crossed all of the chapters off the list. If you're not loving the book, I would recommend trying out this reading order.
Here's some of my suggested characters to follow. Just start with whomever you're most intrigued by. HELLGRAM (Jem's Reasons for Leaving, The Hospitality of the Varatsins, Ruslav in the Teeth, Breaking Things, Hellgram's War, Unity and Division, Resurrections). YASNIC (Yasnic's Relationship With God, Nihilostes Loses A Convert, Conservations About God, Price of Rope, Drinking Alone, The Apostate, Port to Nowhere, Another Round). RUSLAV (Ruslav in Love Again, Ruslav's Master's Voice, Jem's Reasons for Leaving, Hospitality of the Varatsins, Ruslav in the Teeth, Nihilostes Loses A Convert, Chains, Price of Rope, Wings, The Bitter Sisters, The Dousing, Resurrections, Another Round).
A video review including this book will appear on my channel in the coming weeks, at
Thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own....more
The blurb for this book calls it a "love story." I don't really even think that this book is a story (much less a love story, which at least implies tThe blurb for this book calls it a "love story." I don't really even think that this book is a story (much less a love story, which at least implies that there will be characters you can root for).
It's not a story. It's more like a ramble. A vagabond stumbling through the desert, parched, meandering, hopeless, and boring.
I feel so strongly of "It's not you, it's me." I had a 1star amount of fun. But it feels like it's my (and the publicity team's) fault that I went into this book expecting characters to ship, a speculative fiction plotline, and humor similar to Princess Bride.
Here's who I would recommend this book to: people who love the movie 500 Days of Summer (loser protagonist, pining after a doomed relationship). People who like when the author is a character in the book (not in a John Green way, more like in a Lego Movie way). People who like it when books prioritize Weirdness over Plot. I know those people are out there, and I hope this book finds them.
I have a lot to say about this book¹, but most of it would be an angry rant², so I'll just abstain³.
* MY THOUGHTS ON EDITED VS UNEDITED: * This book has a partner book, which is Unedited. It's a very long unedited version of Edited.
If Edited is a (sometimes barely coherent) pererration, Unedited is so much more. It truly does read like a rough draft, difficult to follow and full of extraneous details.
However, if that is the kind of book you're looking for: a drift through abysmal characters and an Ode to Writing, Unedited is the superior version.
[ Just as an FYI: ] Unedited could also be called "Uncensored." Edited could be passed off as an older YoungAdult book, but Unedited has way too much (sex, language, etc) to keep that label. For context (at least in the copies I read), Unedited is 3.2 times longer than Edited. It also has 5.1 times more F-bombs. The density is somewhat increased.
Thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
¹ The part of this book that bothered me the most is when Lyga is complaining that no one likes his endings, how he can't write good endings, and how they're problematic for him, and. And I've read other Lyga books; I LOVED THE ENDINGS. It was my favorite thing about the books. So to have our page time wasted with a pity party is lame. But to have it wasted on critique that ISN'T EVEN ACCURATE, even worse. ² This book seriously angered me. I had high hopes for it, and it bombed every one. ³ Of course I couldn't help myself. I had� to include some pretentious and contradictory footnotes to help you understand what reading this book is like. � Or maybe I didn't write a review at all. Maybe this is all in your head; a complicated and irrelevant dream� sequence. � You're on ŷ. The beige colorscheme reminds you of the stucco Walmart building you once kissed a girl in. But wait, you don't have lips, they're all blurry. They say to you, the� password is broccoli. You nod, then panic. Where does that key go! You try it in your bikelock? Finally, a way to escape. You wake up, only to find your blanket has been replaced by a mat of woven bacon. � Dream sequences don't have quotation marks. You would know that if you'd ever dreamed before....more
The cover for this book is perfect; very science. The only character I felt like I knew was our narrator. I got all the rest of them confused. But I didThe cover for this book is perfect; very science. The only character I felt like I knew was our narrator. I got all the rest of them confused. But I did enjoy the writing style...more
Am I allowed to say that this book reminds me of An Abundance of Katherines by John Green? And that I feel like that book did these themes better? TheAm I allowed to say that this book reminds me of An Abundance of Katherines by John Green? And that I feel like that book did these themes better? The difference is that that book questioned the premise that math can predict the future, and this one doesn't. It's a modernism VS postmodernism kind of thing....more
The author (in very engaging interviews, I recommend the one on @ToriTalks) has said that part of the project of this novel is to explore a complicateThe author (in very engaging interviews, I recommend the one on @ToriTalks) has said that part of the project of this novel is to explore a complicated world from the perspective of a despicable character. Alas, I find myself really hating both the overly detailed worldbuilding and the POV. I cannot enjoy this novel....more
No, I haven't read any other Malazan books. Yes, I'm aware how utterly ridiculous this is. I swear I'm not crazy; this is for science!
Full disclose: INo, I haven't read any other Malazan books. Yes, I'm aware how utterly ridiculous this is. I swear I'm not crazy; this is for science!
Full disclose: I only made it two chapters in before giving up. It turns out there is indeed a limit on how much lore you can skip and still enjoy a story. Or maybe this writing style isn't for me. I can't really tell which this situation is.
This book is bureaucratically banal. When the blurb says, "political," it's being truthful. When the blurb says, "thrilling," it is lying.
In this booThis book is bureaucratically banal. When the blurb says, "political," it's being truthful. When the blurb says, "thrilling," it is lying.
In this book, Dekkard (a newlywed) has just been forced into being a senator. In this position, he must attend meetings and prepare legal documents. At home, he eats croissants and practices his knife throwing. There are occasional scenes where the villains attack and people die. Then there are more meetings.
I think there are people who will enjoy this book. But you must know what you are getting yourself into, and make an informed decision. I would recommend this book to people who enjoyed book 1.
Here is the thing I liked about this book: the repetition of a breakfast ritual. Every morning, our characters eat the same things and discuss the newspaper. Every Morning. But by the end of the book, I felt like it was my ritual, too. It was like watching the theme song of a tv show and knowing all of the words.
AUDIOBOOK: The narrator fits Dekkard's voice wonderfully. His measured delivery fits the tone of the book, without being so measured to put you to sleep. If you enjoy audiobooks, this is a great way to consume this story.
A video review including this book will appear on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, at
Thanks to Tor Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own....more
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