The writing was weak. Especially in the first book. I didn't think the characters were especially vibrant, in spite of the fact that the books are chaThe writing was weak. Especially in the first book. I didn't think the characters were especially vibrant, in spite of the fact that the books are chalk-full of their inner thoughts and exploration of their self-reflections, feelings, and philosophies. It took all three books for the characters to begin to feel something approaching real to me.
It didn't help that the world itself is very foreign. But at the same time, the strangeness of the magic system and the cleverness of the worldbuilding is what, for me at least, made the books a good read and redeemed the other weaknesses.
Some neat things: * Each chapter begins with a quote taken from literature in the world. This is a novel and effective way of slowly unraveling the universe that the characters live in. * The magic system(s) is novel. I'd heard people rave about it for years. It is neat and its complexities are slowly revealed in a pleasant manner. * This is not a simple good versus evil series. And the choices that the characters are forced to make are complex and therefore interesting.
That's my take anyway. The writing does get better and hey, your mileage may vary....more
The Last Unicorn was simply the most beautiful writing I've ever read. The phrases were so infused with magic and wonder that apart from any other conThe Last Unicorn was simply the most beautiful writing I've ever read. The phrases were so infused with magic and wonder that apart from any other considerations, it deserves the highest rating I can give it.
That said, the plot didn't really grip me and while I can understand people's appreciation of Molly Grue and Schmendrick, they were not characters I could relate to. And of course, who can relate to a Beagle's Unicorn?
But for the grace with which the story paints places and people and emotions, I would certainly read it again and heartily recommend it....more
The Silmarillion is a collection of several works mostly narrative but with some poetry that make up the history of Tolkien's fantasy world. I think lThe Silmarillion is a collection of several works mostly narrative but with some poetry that make up the history of Tolkien's fantasy world. I think like most people, I didn't succeed in finishing until my second run through. It is dense. The number of names and places was sufficient in my copy to warrant 40 pages of appendixes documenting them in addition to the many maps. But such density of information leads to an epic scope beyond perhaps any other writing and also plenty of room for imagination. Two parts stuck out especially to me: The creation story of his world, which is words describing music, which is far more lovely than one would expect possible. And the story of Beren and Luthien which as one of among hundreds of stories in the Silmarillion single handedly trumped the epic feel of the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. This is a fantastic book for anyone who loved, really loved Tolkien's other works....more
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