"I now have a Booktube channel! Find me at:

DNF at 30%. Here's the Q&A:

Did you really give King of Ashes a chance?

Admittedly, I didn’t give it as much as I could have. I did make it to about 30% before tossing it aside, while acknowledging that this is one of those rare cases where it could actually have gotten better. It didn’t, according to what I gleaned from my book club meeting, but I was so fed up, it was a risk I was willing to take.

Have you enjoyed other books in the same genre?

Yes. I’m considering this a more modern fantasy even though it’s written by a classic author, and most of my favorite works come from this genre:



The Shadow of What Was Lost - James Islington
Promise of Blood - Brian McClellan
The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie
The Dragon's Path - Daniel Abraham
Daughter of the Empire - Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts <-Included because this author has done amazing things in the past.

It’s perfect in line with what I’d like to read.

Did you have certain expectations before starting it?

Surprisingly, I went in with low expectations even though I’ve loved a few early works from this author (he’s a family favorite). But his later Riftwar books proved very unsatisfying, so I was wary of starting this one. Truth be told, had it not been a book club selection, I’m not sure I would’ve have ever made time to pick it up.

What ultimately made you stop reading?

Omg. The execution of the story. The basic idea behind the book was actually super interesting. Something I would’ve wanted to read in any other context. The prologue even had me giddy with anticipation, thinking, “this is going to be good.�

The first thing that threw me off was how the writing was very much at an arm’s distance from the story. Take a conversation between two characters as an example: instead of immersing you in the scene with back and forth dialogue, Feist would take you one step back and describe the conversation happening. Using each point brought up to launch into a couple page description of whatever info needing to be dumped at that point before closing the conversation with one or two lines. I noticed this also with setting. He went off on a ten page diatribe about this market setting instead of having his characters interact with it and dropping in details that way. I’ve no idea if this is a habit he had in his early works because it has been some time since I read them, but now I’m afraid to reread because I know I’m going to notice it now and it will irritate me. I highly doubt it was this passive, though.

The thing that ultimately made me put it down was the book’s very odd fixation on sex. I think it’s important to clarify that I don’t care one way or another if there’s sexual content in fantasy novels. Some authors can even use it to enhance character and provide comic relief (Abercrombie). But the very least I ask is that reading it doesn’t feel like I’m reading the sexual fantasies of a 16 year old, and that those fantasies are completely dominating the story. It was so bad. The characters were constantly thinking about and talking about sex, and when they weren’t, the narration picked it up describing why sex wasn’t allowed in the school or why so and so slept with so and so and it wasn’t until I got to the training brothel (because when you have a guild of spies, that’s the only thing women are good for, right?) I finally threw it down in frustration. This is not what I signed up for. And if you’re going to include sexual content in your books ad nausium, at least make it good sex! Holy shit.

Is there anything you liked about the King of Ashes?

The prologue. And the idea behind the story. He lost me completely on the execution.

Would you read anything else by the author?

I’ve read literally everything he has published (20+ novels) minus one co-written trilogy and a random stand-alone. I think the buck stops here though. I may read that outstanding trilogy eventually, but I’m in no hurry.

So you DNFed the book. Would you still recommend it?

No. Normally my constructive analysis allows me to figure out who might be a more appropriate audience for a given title. Or at the very least, I concede that it might be just me who didn’t like it. In this case, I know it bothered me more than most, but I still wouldn’t hand it to anyone and would actively discourage someone from reading it. It was that bad.

EDIT: so my mom, who loves fantasy, loves Feist, got me into reading as a kid, said she finished the book and told me I stopped reading too soon and it all made sense and came together and I should really consider picking it back up because between this and the second one "it get's really good! You're missing out." I was at peace with my DNF. FML lol. Reviewing is hard, people. I think ultimately I'm going to trust my instincts with this one and just let it be.

Via The Obsessive Bookseller at "

"L'Ascesa di Senlin non è un brutto romanzo, ma è un romanzo che, semplicemente, non ingrana.

Se il worldbuilding dei vari Regni Circolari della Torre è estremamente interessante (molto vario e con numerose idee intelligenti e capaci di lasciare il lettore sbalordito), il resto risulta purtroppo deludente.

La storia, senza troppi giri di parole, è TROPPO LENTA.
Gli avvenimenti sono pochissimi e di poco rilievo, non ci sono colpi di scena (l'unico "colpo di scena" verso il finale è prevedibilissimo) e, altra cosa che mi è davvero piaciuta poco, tutto il romanzo è impregnato di una sorta di "irrazionalità" (non so davvero come spiegarmi, ma sembra che l'intera vicenda narrata sia davvero poco credibile, come fosse un'enorme commedia mal riuscita. Magari è una cosa voluta dall'autore, semplicemente a me non è piaciuta).
E, a parte il protagonista (che mi è piaciuto), anche il resto dei personaggi risulta poco approfondito e ridotto a una macchietta.

La scrittura, per contro, è molto scorrevole e risulta piacevole.

Un romanzo che, nonostante le critiche non proprio positive che avevo letto in giro, pensavo potesse piacermi molto: l'atmosfera e l'ambientazione quasi steampunk (che ripeto, è l'unica cosa riuscita) mi avevano attratta moltissimo, così come quell'aura di mistero che pensavo di trovare tra le pagine (e, invece, non se ne scorge l'ombra).

Ho visto molto potenziale sprecato. Non so se continuerò la serie, onestamente. Vedremo!

VOTO: 6 E MEZZO"

"The first thing I have done after finishing the book is to unlike Bill Gates' review (4/5) of it. I also suspect if he reviewed and recommended this not because he personally found it great, but because he wanted others to read it as a good, lucid introductory book on Big History.
The first half of the book is a poor cousin of "Cosmos" or "A Short history of Nearly Everything". It deals with the origin of the universe to the origin of human beings. The book has more information than insights and for this part, the book felt a bit better.
Couldnt help comparing the second half, the story of humans, to the magnificient "Sapiens" by Harari. Instead of insights you have a lot of children's general history level facts thrown at you here. It was so uninteresting that I skimmed the last chapter.
Avoid, unless this is the first book you will be reading on this subject. And my level of disappointment is bcoz I have read some fantastic books on related topics."

"**Edit as of 5/31/22: It appears I’ve gotten under some people’s skin. Welcome to the exchange of ideas, friends! I understand that your comment means you really want my attention and read what I have to say! That’s awesome. I, however, don’t give a shit about what you have to say. You’re free to comment and I’m free to ignore it. LMFAO.**

Did I really just read 288 pages of a white dude describing the world and how he manipulates others to "get the right answer" to his questions? I feel sick.

With the preface, you really believe Voss is the expert in his field (and a humble expert, which is refreshing beyond belief). But you'll also start to realize about 15 pages in that Voss' techniques only work because he lives in a world where everyone is systematically inclined to make men like him happy (either for fear of retribution or because they are men who hope Voss' success mirrors (hey, I used his favorite word!) their own). The world already accommodates him.

Can't wait for Never Split the Difference 2: A Woman's Perspective. It would be about 250 pages shorter because no one takes her seriously enough to answer her questions and instead asks to speak with the man in charge."