This is an interesting tale from Erikson with his very recognizable humour, social and political commentary and storycraft. They were great, I liked tThis is an interesting tale from Erikson with his very recognizable humour, social and political commentary and storycraft. They were great, I liked them.
However, I did not enjoy this story as much as I had hoped. I distinctly missed our supposed main characters in most of the story. Furthermore, I felt all the stories crossing each other were somewhat convoluted and not necessarily adding to the story (I'm sure I missed something, because it seems almost impossible with Erikson). I liked how things developed and came together but I feel it was too slow and long for what it was....more
This was an awesome ending to a trilogy. Tregillis really delivered on the promises from the earlier books. Ending in a great climax, the storylines oThis was an awesome ending to a trilogy. Tregillis really delivered on the promises from the earlier books. Ending in a great climax, the storylines of Berenice, Hugo, Anastasia, Daniel, Mab, Lilith, all converge in several key moments.
There is not much I can tell without spoiling the story, but let's just say that there are some dire moments, moments of hope, some great philosophical ideas and a lot of blood-curdling action.
I did love the thematic reflection on history that Mab (already in book 2 so no spoilers) provides where there is a tendency for people who have been oppressed or discriminated, when they come into power, to do the same to others. We saw this when black people took over plantations in the old Dutch colony in Surinam, where forced labour was simply continued and labour was just taken from Indonesia. But we also see it in Israeli policy towards Palestinians who clearly have taken a more methodical lesson rather than a moral lesson from the Jewish people's awful history.
Also, this is the first book ever in my life that I'm rooting for the French. ;)
Just go read the trilogy and stop reading this ;)...more
I liked a Demon in the Desert. I had a very slow start with it. Did not really get into it, but the ending was great, action-packed and cinematic and I liked a Demon in the Desert. I had a very slow start with it. Did not really get into it, but the ending was great, action-packed and cinematic and yes...even emotional. I'd say that if the book would've gone sooner to this Armstrong-lanche, I would've really loved this book. I also really appreciated how Armstrong writes kids and Grimluk's interaction with them. Grimluk's character in general is a fun hard-boiled guy with a healthy social-emotional mindset and some soft spots. That was great.
My biggest problem was with the start that did not really engage me. Even though it's a short book it still felt like working to get to the juicy bits. I appreciate how the author experimented with third person omniscient and blending different perspectives within chapters. Something that is done too little but great books like Dune use continuously. However, it is very atypical for this noire lone hero vibe genre. So it must be executed perfectly for it to work.
Secondly it is a kind of classic fantasy races meets western surroundings book. But neither added a lot for me. While the western setting did add some atmosphere, everything except for the mine and the type of guns could've been a contemporary secluded village or a flintlock setting. The races in this story were classically Orcs, Humans, Elfs, Halflings and Dwarfs, but their race does not have any consequences for the story except for Grimluk being very strong and hardy and a particular person having had enough of meddling Orcs.
So all in all, the book was a mixed bag with a great ending. I'm sure I'll dip my toes in again to see whether the series improves in book 2....more
This book was a mixed bag for me, but in the end I did enjoy it. Let me start out by saying that I loved the short story in The Advent of Winter that This book was a mixed bag for me, but in the end I did enjoy it. Let me start out by saying that I loved the short story in The Advent of Winter that this novel is based on. I was one among those that actively asked for more content in that universe. And in that sense this novel does not disappoint.
This story centers around Aqen, a fighter with a divine boon from the south, and Birna, an Ice mage from the north, and their children. They live in a world where there are several pantheons of titans. It is set nine years after the short story in which the titan Apophis had come after Aqen and his family to punish him from leaving his service. Now he's come back and one of three children of Aqen and Birna has died.
This book is action-packed and there's a lot of interaction and fighting with titans. The titans in this world really speak to the imagination. They are powerful beings based on the historical Egyptian, Nordic and Greek pantheons, as are the geographical locations. This, while awesome, is also one of the first issues I had when reading the book. I really had to get used to naming and geography being so close but not the same. In the beginning of the book there's a map with three countries and it's literally Scandinavia, the Iberian peninsula and Greece and then Northern Africa with Kemet having a Nile delta kind of geographical feature. The only difference really being that the middle part of Europe is taken out. And there's a city in the north called Trodheim, and a city called Athenai, and Sparti etc. and to me that's just so close that I'd either take our literal historical geography or put in some effort and make up some new names.
Still the titans are awesome, as are the background stories of Aqen and Birna. We get to know them quite well, as well as Sigrun and Hjalmar, their surviving children. As to their character work, I kind of felt that Soliman had some trouble finding his footing. In the first part of the book, I find the emotions, especially of Aqen quite one-dimensional and flat. And with a lot of action there, I kind of felt that I was reading a Steven Seagal movie, which for me is not a compliment. But I feel that around the halfway point the interactions within the family and the feelings and past they share, helps overcome this. So in the end it became easier to relate to the characters. Although I still find some thoughts and responses somewhat clunky, I've come to think that's just who they are and then it is kind of very realistic :)
Overall the pacing is very fast. It's a fun action packed book and the ending is satisfying and has great cliff hangers. So really the book was a tale of two parts for me, but I do recommend it and will read the sequel!...more
Second read review: Like I said in my first review, I had some trouble with the unexpected complexity of thFirst read: 3.5/5 stars Second read 4/5 stars
Second read review: Like I said in my first review, I had some trouble with the unexpected complexity of this book. This time around knowing what the purpose and role of the card game was having a general feel for the important side stories that are introduced now and then, it made for a much nice reading experience.
Looking forward to read book seven next week!
First read review: This book did not particularly work for me. I still love the series to bits and think the book had some amazing moments, characters and storylines. However, somehow my attention was not grabbed. I have two possible explanations for this.
First, the card game got a bit in the way for me (it gets introduced early on, so no spoiler really). At first I was kind of enthousiastic about the collection part as it reminded me of the hunter x hunter story that takes place on the island created by Gon's dad. However, it felt more of a magic: the gathering or pokemon kind of game with (admmittedly very funny) weird and/or religious creatures/characters cards. It also made it a bit more complicated to continuously explain for the author what needed to happen and what the mechanics were. The added complexity was not entirely to my personal taste.
Second, and this is both a positive and a negative. A lot of characters and concepts are being further developed in this book. Now that I'm writing this I'm wondering whether this is a setup book for the next book, which I'll definitely read. That being said, it is great that Dinniman brings his world further to live, by deepening our understanding or the mystery of factions in and outside the dungeon, of different gods and makes sure that several crawlers or other characters like Odette get some development. However, I think that together with the card game and the AI going bonkers it just took me an unexpected amount of effort to keep track of everything. By no means do I want to say it was made too complicated but I feel previous books were really effortless reading (quiet introduction of background information and then a clear cut puzzle with some plot twists and side quests).
To summarize I really feel it was not what I expected and maybe I was also slightly distracted by the holidays which did not help. So I kind of decided I'll reread it next month or the month after to see whether it can be redeemed with the right expectations.
Because the book also has some great moments. The prologue was actually great as character development goes. Same goes for how the IA becomes more and more conscious and independent. The concept of how the world was used in this level was fun and interesting. There are some tough dilemma's for Carl (although I felt they were less impactful than in previous books for me, again might be distraction as well). And the Bedlam bride is interesting. The thing is in this series that Carl and Donut increasingly get involved in all kinds of stuff and I'm very curious how they will all come together....more
This is another fine and fun Sam Shovel novel. A great cozy read for the holidays and yet I missed some of the magic that I felt in the first book. StThis is another fine and fun Sam Shovel novel. A great cozy read for the holidays and yet I missed some of the magic that I felt in the first book. Starting with the good, these books are meant to smother you with christmas references, song lyrics, puns and all kinds of creature and characters from christmasrelated traditions from all-over the world. And this book does that like no other.
That being said, for something this short I felt the plot was somewhat complicated and a bit all over the place. While the first Sam shovel novel was a fun mix of plot-driven and character-driven story, following a very classical whodunnit structure, that same scenario here was a bit repetitive to me. Not because it was another whodunnit, which was actually quite fun, but because there seemingly was no urgency. Spoiler explanation of what I mean: (view spoiler)[ Someone was 'maybe' murdered but he might live. It was not clear what the problem was of a train not following its usual route if it was always christmas day on the train anyway. Mr and Mrs Claus turning up in the train was kind of late so the whole time we were kind of looking for a motive. None of the people we met truly had a motive. So it was hard to really decide for myself who I thought the perpetrator might be.
I still feel it is easy to forgive this singular complaint as the core purpose of reading this book for me was to really dive into the holiday feels and all the associations this book uses really helped me do that. (hide spoiler)]...more
As disclosure I'd like to preface this review with the fact that I received an ARC for proofreading and am a big fan of Michael Cronk's YT content as As disclosure I'd like to preface this review with the fact that I received an ARC for proofreading and am a big fan of Michael Cronk's YT content as well as his first book. That being said, if you liked book 1 you are going to love book 2.
In every sense it is a step up, in the story, in the stakes and in the world building. Also in its genre (whodunnit) it is clear that the author's craft has further improved from book 1. I love how the relationships develop, the roughness but trueness of the police department internal interactions, the dynamics between Jason, Silvana and Freddie, the intrigue in the immortal world. I think they are all great strengths of this book.
I love how this series emphasizes healthy coping, healthy relationships and implements representation of mental health and sexuality/gender in a very natural way. Furthermore I love how the author does not shy away from morality, geopolitical themes and even makes them an integral part to the story of the immortal world and our protagonists.
In short, I hope you read this book and love it as much as I did....more
The Mechanical is a great book. It is ambitious and gripping, it has equal parts thought-provoking concepts and a high-stakes action-packed plot. In tThe Mechanical is a great book. It is ambitious and gripping, it has equal parts thought-provoking concepts and a high-stakes action-packed plot. In this book we are thrown in a world where the Dutch have invented AI-robots (so-called Clackers) who are bound to do what their humans say by geasa. With this advancement the Dutch have been dominating the western world. However, somewhere in New France there is still a remnant of the French court and they are looking for ways to win from the Clackers.
In this book Tregillis creates a fun and interesting alternate history. The author clearly did his research on both the historical period that he engages with, as well as Dutch and French culture, places and names. Furthermore Tregillis introduces the work and thoughts of some of the most important European philosophers/scientists like Huygens, Spinoza, Descartes and others (although part of it is adapted to fit the invention of the clackers). Additionally given the time period Tregillis clearly juxtaposes Dutch Protestantism and French Catholicism.
Throughout the story we follow different perspectives in third-person. One is a clacker, a second is a priest that works in The Hague for the French and third is the female French spymaster. They provide very interesting perspectives on the plot and the nature of clacker technology. I'd say more about the very interesting storylines and their plot twists but that is part of the fun of reading the story.
Although easy to follow, the Mechanical uses a lot of uncommon words that I had to look up or infer as a non-native reader. I liked it though and it helped in immersing rather than breaking immersion. The one complaint I have also regarded language. I found there to be quite a few typo's still and although many of the Dutch names were well-chosen, I felt that several Dutch and French names were not entirely fitting (as a Dutch person). Then again, I did not study the times so they might've been archaic names and it is greatly overshadowed by the amazing job Tregillis did with the impressions of The Hague, the foods and the depiction of Dutch royalty.
Important to note is that the book is great at making you curious about the secret clacker technology and reveals parts of it, bit by bit. Also between New France and the Dutch colonies in America a lot is brewing.
I cannot recommend reading this book enough and will read the second book in the series next month....more
This book was a magnificent fresh take on dark academia with a very unique fantasy world. As the book is very much intended for the reader to discoverThis book was a magnificent fresh take on dark academia with a very unique fantasy world. As the book is very much intended for the reader to discover the mysterious workings of the world and the school that our main character Sasha attends, I will say little about it. I do want to emphasize that the book has a very interesting and original take on how magic/technology/things (hard to put a word on it) govern the world.
As many others have stated, this book defies genres. I'd like to say blends, but it is really more in the middle of scifi, fantasy and magical realism. It has the same Kafkaesque mystery that Murakami has in many of his books, while also dipping deep into the dark academia vibes. The book is extremely good at creating tension.
This tension starts immediately as we meet Sasha on her vacation and some older man wants to interact with her. As she refuses, her day starts anew and she meets the man again, which continues until she starts doing as he requests. And he asks her to do some weird stuff. Going down this path lands her in the Institute of Special Technologies. A school in a small town, in which she goes through mind-boggling transformations.
Which I think is an extremely important theme here. The price for transformation, the price for freedom, control and power. How hard work is required to really change anything. Another important theme is family and belongingness. It is a clear coming of age story. Another important matter that is amplified in this book is how language and words can really have some power over reality and its perception.
So the world is refreshing, but the character work is also very good. We get an interesting cast of characters which sometimes even beg the question who or what they are. The culture is slightly different and I'm wondering whether it is just the tone the authors chose or whether this is very much influenced by Russian culture. I felt that the whole way of looking at parenting and managing students was very authoritarian and felt that young women were kind of sexualized sometimes (the latter not that much that it was annoying, but sometimes it felt unnecessary).
The book is a complex book and if you dislike vagueness or conceptual thinking in your books, I think that would really diminish your enjoyment. I loved it myself, to try and puzzle how everything worked.
I can't say much more for those who still want to read it, but the ending was very nice and interesting and also slightly confusing. But I'll definitely pick up the next book in this series at some point....more
The Heroes is an awesome book about the bleakness and senselessness of war. And still it gives some of the greatest fight scenes there are. We find ouThe Heroes is an awesome book about the bleakness and senselessness of war. And still it gives some of the greatest fight scenes there are. We find ourselves right around the time of the events in Best Served Cold and many of the characters from the First Law Trilogy show up here. The whole book is centered around The Heroes, which is a place, not a group of people. On both sides of the fight, the Union and the North, we find some great characters we've met earlier. And most of them have made some advancement. We also meet some new characters.
Although a bit whiny, I loved the perspectives from Bremer dan Gorst and Calder. And you can be sure that wherever Black Dow shows up or Bayaz, some very heavy lifting will be done. This is also the book with the famous long scene where the perspective changes continuously from the person being killed to the killer, on and on, to better emphasize the senselessness of war and the fleeting nature of life in war.
Abercrombie, as always is a master at creating people to read about. All characters feel truly real and alive, and mostly petty, self-absorbed and trying to get by. It is a pleasure to read it and gives all kinds of perspectives on what's truly important in life. I definitely recommend this one. And yes, having read the first trilogy does really add to the fun....more
The Crippled God is a finale and what a finale it is. A convergence of convergences. While many plotlines are continued elsewhere we see here the granThe Crippled God is a finale and what a finale it is. A convergence of convergences. While many plotlines are continued elsewhere we see here the grander design of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.
I was slightly worried while reading this book as it took quite some time to get to the climax of the story. And yet, if you take your time, every scene is quite interesting. Each chapter is loaded with themes and here he really benefits from us readers having met so many of these characters several times. He uses it to fully explore the human condition and how different experiences affect many different people.
There were so many wonderful moments and I do not want to spoil anything so I'll just tell you I cried quite a few times, felt a lot of hype, was really invested and tore through the last chapters of this book. A special (minor spoiler) mention for the moment that really hit me so hard and really emphasizes Eriksons brilliance as a writer. He can be long and windy or maybe self-indulgent sometimes but that moment when children rediscovered toys as a concept and how all the adults were awed by that...that was...perfection. I truly cried as a father.
Some beautiful endings, even though it is not a happy series. Some horrible endings as well and a world turned upside down. We face suffering in this book/series in many guises, but also people's power to deal with it, ameliorate it, take it away. And at the same time, Erikson has some very humorous dialogue and moments in here.
I feel I'm clearly lacking the words to do this book and series justice. Next year I'll start a reread and maybe I'll find better words. For now, I bow deeply and take my hat of to Steven Erikson for taking me on this journey and finishing it like this.
Great book, fast paced, plot deepens as Carl and Donut also get tangled up in politics outside the dungeon. You will not find the wildest philosophicaGreat book, fast paced, plot deepens as Carl and Donut also get tangled up in politics outside the dungeon. You will not find the wildest philosophical ideas here, although there is quite thorough world building in a sense. This book just has so much fun, excitement and a slightly human touch, which makes it an easy but highly engaging read.
Go read this series if you're up for anything I just wrote....more
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