Florian's Updates en-US Wed, 16 Apr 2025 08:39:40 -0700 60 Florian's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9315832986 Wed, 16 Apr 2025 08:39:40 -0700 <![CDATA[Florian started reading 'In the Shadow of Lightning']]> /review/show/7386181265 In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan Florian started reading In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan
]]> Review7369280690 Wed, 16 Apr 2025 08:10:12 -0700 <![CDATA[Florian added 'Babel']]> /review/show/7369280690 Babel by R.F. Kuang Florian gave 2 stars to Babel (Hardcover) by R.F. Kuang
bookshelves: 2025, fantasy, audio
]]> Review7231006575 Sat, 15 Mar 2025 16:04:05 -0700 <![CDATA[Florian added 'The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill']]> /review/show/7231006575 The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill by Dominique Enright Florian gave 4 stars to The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill (Hardcover) by Dominique Enright
bookshelves: 2025, non-fiction
My wife recommended this book, which turned out to be quite a funny read. Then again, one would expect as much from someone as witty as Winston Churchill.

The book covers parts of Churchill's speeches, outbursts to friends and foes, jokes, and day-to-day wisdom as he navigated life through what was arguably the hardest of recent times. While not nearly as political as I expected, many of the thoughts shared here are fairly popular and well-known. This might be why I found the unknown ones(unknown to me, at least), focused on ordinary life, the most entertaining from the collection.


]]> ReadStatus9161909446 Sat, 08 Mar 2025 09:43:33 -0800 <![CDATA[Florian wants to read 'In the Shadow of Lightning']]> /review/show/7386181265 In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan Florian wants to read In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan
]]> Rating832579377 Tue, 04 Mar 2025 13:30:24 -0800 <![CDATA[Florian Pekazh liked a readstatus]]> /
Florian Pekazh liked Gergana’s status update
Gergana Dimitrova Gergana Dimitrova is currently reading Името на вятъра (Хрониките на кралеубиеца, #1)
]]> ReadStatus9137810376 Sun, 02 Mar 2025 12:30:41 -0800 <![CDATA[Florian is currently reading 'Babel']]> /review/show/7369280690 Babel by R.F. Kuang Florian is currently reading Babel by R.F. Kuang
]]> Review7223373186 Sun, 02 Mar 2025 12:23:15 -0800 <![CDATA[Florian added 'The Will of the Many']]> /review/show/7223373186 The Will of the Many by James Islington Florian gave 4 stars to The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1) by James Islington
bookshelves: 2025, fantasy, audio
Picking this one was more of a coincidence, as something about its oddly plain cover made me check the blurb on the back—and it carried such great worldbuilding potential that I knew I had to read this next.

Vis is a runaway orphan, a scholar(he actually speaks several dead languages), a master swordsman(not an overstatement), and also a blatant liar. The last part might sound less impressive than the rest, but that’s what he does throughout most of the book while desperately trying to hide his past. His quite amazing skill set doesn’t remain unnoticed too long, and Vis is soon adopted by one of the Hiearchy’s senators—but not precisely for the reasons you might think. Vis is to study at the Academy, where he is not only expected to excel amongst the brightest young minds of the Empire but also to uncover what happened to the senator’s dead brother years ago.

If you are thinking this sounds like Dark Academia set in the Roman Empire, you are thinking right. Add to that all the politics happening in the background and a mysterious magical system (I don’t want to call it confusing, but I hardly understood what it’s about), and you have the ingredients for a potential fantasy classic.

However, the book fell short of those expectations.

As enjoyable as it might be to follow Vis around, he is the type of overpowered main character(Kvothe immediately comes to mind). He is literally good at everything and somehow gets away with telling tons of lies. The genuine problem with that is that you never worry about anything happening to him, and instead, your interest is drawn to the secondary characters(for me, that was Callidus, one of Vis's friends at the Academy).

And, of course, there’s the ending. It’s sudden and unexpected, barely answering any of the two dozen questions I had hoped it would. It’s not a typical cliffhanger, but the feeling is very similar.

I still found The Will of the Many a good read, but it was just the slight things and maybe the ending that stripped it from being a great one—and perhaps an all-time fantasy classic. All things considered, The Will of the Many is by far one of the best fantasy books I’ve read in the last couple of years, and I’ll definitely check out the sequel to get my answers (hopefully).
]]> ReadStatus9074513453 Sat, 15 Feb 2025 20:42:55 -0800 <![CDATA[Florian wants to read 'The Strength of the Few']]> /review/show/7324949202 The Strength of the Few by James Islington Florian wants to read The Strength of the Few by James Islington
]]> ReadStatus9073038950 Sat, 15 Feb 2025 13:55:43 -0800 <![CDATA[Florian started reading 'The Will of the Many']]> /review/show/7223373186 The Will of the Many by James Islington Florian started reading The Will of the Many by James Islington
]]> Review7185704143 Sat, 15 Feb 2025 13:47:20 -0800 <![CDATA[Florian added 'The Tainted Cup']]> /review/show/7185704143 The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett Florian gave 4 stars to The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett
bookshelves: 2025, audio, fantasy
Ever since reading City of Stairs, I've known that nobody writes fantasy murder mysteries quite as well as Robert Jackson Bennet, and The Tainted Cup further proves that.

Din is an engraver—an altered human possessing a perfect memory, who ends up as an assistant to the blind and mysterious investigator of Daretana, Ana Dolabra. Not only that, but he is now working a high-profile murder of an officer rather than the familiar accounting crimes from before.
While Din becomes the investigator's eyes, engraving every detail that might help solve the case, Dolabra stays back at her office, assessing everything based on his reports and rarely leaving the walls of her assigned accommodation. As Dolabra quickly starts putting the pieces of the murder together, Din realizes the investigator is much more capable than expected—especially for someone handling a place like Daretana.

Considering the murder happened on the estate of one of the most powerful and wealthy families in the Empire and that the officer had a tree burst out of his chest, soon there's quite the official interest in their case. As they unveil more, Din and Dolabra find themselves involved in something much bigger than Daretana, which might impact the Empire's safety and put it at the mercy of the Leviathans waiting to burst through its walls.

As usual, Robert Jackson Bennet does an excellent job with his characters. Din and Ana Dolabra are fantastic on their own but even more so as a team. They perfectly complement each other while being quite opposite—and I found this extremely satisfying to read. There were some nuances to them that I thought were insignificant to the book(maybe to the future installments?), but apart from that, they are everything one could ask from fantasy detectives.

However, it's the worldbuilding that makes this book stand out from Robert Jackson Bennet's previous works. Carefully tailored in the background, it progressively becomes more and more significant with each chapter, up until the explosive climax.

The Tainted Cup is easily my favorite read this year, and I'm impatiently waiting for the second part.
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