Got this for free from Amazon. I guess you get what you pay for. Sigh. I DNFed at about 30%. The main characters and their impending romance were utterGot this for free from Amazon. I guess you get what you pay for. Sigh. I DNFed at about 30%. The main characters and their impending romance were utter cringe. I have no other words for it all, just absolute cringe. I only got as far as I did because the small-town political conflict between the town council and the real estate developer seemed mildly interesting. I was curious to see how it would turn out and that kept me reading for a bit. But after an hour of constant wincing in second-hand embarrassment at the characters' dumb antics and trite dialogue, I couldn't stand it anymore and gave up. ...more
5 stars for the short story itself, 2 stars for the narration in the audio version. The pompous narrator voice really ruins this fun, fast-paced, unpr5 stars for the short story itself, 2 stars for the narration in the audio version. The pompous narrator voice really ruins this fun, fast-paced, unpretentious story. I'm so sad that it's not available in any other format except audible or in an anthology....more
A huge improvement on the first book of the series. I'm happy I decided to stick with the series for a little longer. This second book is an engrossinA huge improvement on the first book of the series. I'm happy I decided to stick with the series for a little longer. This second book is an engrossing adventure, barely has any awkward exposition at all, and no plot inconsistencies. Without the awkwardness, the charm of the series' straightforward mystery-adventure really shines through. And on a meta level, it's really inspiring to see how the author pushed himself to improve. Now I can't wait to see if the next book will be even better. ...more
The obvious whodunit is obvious. So obvious, in fact, that I don't understand why the main characters, who are supposedly genius master criminals, canThe obvious whodunit is obvious. So obvious, in fact, that I don't understand why the main characters, who are supposedly genius master criminals, can't figure it out until a person who wasn't even there points out that the obvious murderer is, in fact, obvious. And that was not the only instance of inexplicable stupidity from the MCs. For example, why do they not know basic info about the realm's nobility, when their entire job consists of fleecing these nobles? And how were they able to be so successful at their job thus far, if they don't know and can't be bothered to verify basic info like whether a delegation of foreign nobles is in town or not?
Why do the MCs not know basic things about the culture they live in, like who the main gods of the country's only religion are? If they're just playing dumb to get more info about the church, why do they leave the conversation at that and don't ask any questions that would give them any actual insights? Their weird selective amnesia doesn't even serve as an infodump for the readers, because the gods are already listed in the very beginning of the book. It's right next to the map and everything, so why regurgitate it for us again, and in such an awkward manner?
Other characters also suffer occasional bouts of confusion about basic facts. Like prince Alric, for example, who states that his uncle Percy was married to his mother's sister, while everyone else (and the glossary at the back) seem to think it was his father's sister. Yes, Alric is supposed to be a stupid little manchild, but not stupid to such an extent that he doesn't remember who his relatives are.
Maybe if I keep reading the series, all this selective stupidity will be revealed as the machinations of some overarching supernatural force? That would be cool, but I'm not sure I have the patience to find out......more
A hilarious comedic dissection of Russian imperialist cringe and the phenomenon of the over-privileged manchild failing upward. Except it was written A hilarious comedic dissection of Russian imperialist cringe and the phenomenon of the over-privileged manchild failing upward. Except it was written about 200 years ago. I guess some social critiques remain eternally relevant. (This applies only to "Kапитанская дочка". I did read some of the other novellas in the compilation, but a long time ago. And I didn't like them.)...more
I really wanted to like this book. It had a great concept, interesting characters, interesting world... but the execution was just so bad. And not jusI really wanted to like this book. It had a great concept, interesting characters, interesting world... but the execution was just so bad. And not just bad, but... bad in very unexpected and frustrating ways. The writing style was no-nonsense and workmanlike, but the way the book was paced and organized was just a very weird and unnecessary slog that might have worked for some highly experimental or artsy-fartsy writing, but definitely did not work here.
One really big problem for me was that until the last fifth of the book, almost everything of importance seems to happen behind the scenes. Important events occur, but always elsewhere, with the main characters kind of puttering around on the periphery or arriving too late to see the main event. Important information is learned and realizations are arrived at, but we don't witness the process, only learn about the outcome when characters are informed of it days later through an infodump. It's a narrative approach that would make sense in some modernist exercise in literary nihilism, but feels really aggressively bad in a fantasy-adventure novel. This isn't "Waiting for Godot", for cripes sakes.
Another problem is that the book is horribly repetitive. For example, it would have some aspect of the world's magic system explained once, in detailed narration, as a character uses the magic, and then again, in identical detail, as an infodump dialogue with another character who is just learning the magic. If that explanatory dialogue is already there, why regurgitate all the same info in narration that breaks up the pace of an action scene? It feels like both the writer and the editor were suffering from memory loss while working on this book.
With these two issues combined, most of the novel becomes an exercise in frustration, where you have to suffer through very drawn-out, repetitive setups to events, and then immediately skip time and get told that stuff happened and now the characters will all discuss the aftermath ad nauseum.
And the worst part? Sanderson is clearly doing this on purpose. As demonstrated by the last fifth of the book, he is perfectly capable of describing all developments--action, information, and emotional--directly, if/when he feels like it. He just chooses not to for most of the book, for some obnoxious reason known only to himself. It seems like most readers don't mind this, since he's a highly rated and recommended author, but I personally can't stand this almost passive-aggressive style of narration. I don't think I'll be reading any of his other stuff....more
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