Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism, Sexual content
DNF at page 291
After a lot of torturing ourselves, my reading partner and I agreed to just DNF this. In the beginning, the book was kept afloat by curious hints at really interesting world-building, interest in seeing how we arrive at the frame narrative that is also hinted at, and the author having some moments of literary writing that balanced out the moments of painfully cliched or awkward prose.
For a very long time, we were willing to forgive a lot and make excuses for everything from the lack of character development or cohesive plot to the incredibly uneven prose and the blatant misogyny (well, my partner moreso than me on the last part). "It's not Wolfe," we told ourselves and one another in moments of frustration. "It's Severian that is unreliable and wooden."
Well, here's the thing: it doesn't matter if it's the author or the narrator clumsily fapping to how clever and badass they are. Either way, I'm the one who has to read it. And I can only read about Severian doing stupid shit for so long before I start to want either a cohesive writing style, an interesting character, or a plot that actually starts to form in a linear way.
This was 290 pages of Severian just reacting to events in stupid ways and Wolfe using archaic words and purple prose to try to hide that nothing worth reading has happened the entire fucking time. No matter how many random characters you bring back from the first hundred pages that turn out to be ~~totally important whoa!!!~~ it won't change the face that the book was terribly-paced, unevenly written, and populated by wooden puppets instead of people.
Listen. I don't have enough time in my life to wade through a river of utter crap just to get to the treasure at the end, which everyone swears is worth it. I don't care how good it is. It's not worth it. And it doesn't matter how many times you use words that seem really impressive because no one uses them, it won't change that what they're saying is empty.
I read the Wheel of Time series. I'm a patient girl. The difference? Good writing, fantastic characters, and a plot that made sense from page to page. Not a bunch of crap like this:
"oh i met a guy on page one and i kept him from getting killed. i now will talk nonstop about how i am super devoted to him even though i will never ever ever give any history or background or other indication that i knew who he was!"
"this guy had a GF who was super hot and apparently coos like a bird all the goddamn time instead of talking (and walks like a prehistoric ostrich, according to the narrator). i saw her from a distance for 15 seconds. i'm in love with her, again with absolutely no insight or description of these feelings!"
meet a guy in the street that you might recognize? race him in your chariot. fuck it. why not. crash into the tentchurch. steal a plot device. go ahead.
pull a girl out of a swamp? Better fuck her! Make sure to talk a lot about how much it will hurt her because you're so big. Oh, and how she has the body of a child! and amnesia! (dingdingding pedo alarm!!!) Also be sure to point out that you definitely did it twice, you absolute heartthrob!
also! she's your grandma maybe??????
It's okay to hit women, especially if you're backhanding them.
"hey i have this ridiculous plot device hidden in my boot so i guess i'll press it to a dead guy's head to see if it revives him even though i have no reason in hell to think it might!"
"This sword isn't for combat except when it is... which is when i will kill 3 guys in seconds with it even though they were taking me to the guy i'm loyal to and have been looking for, and weren't gonna hurt me at all."
"Cannabalism for personal growth!"
After a lot of torturing ourselves, my reading partner and I agreed to just DNF this. In the beginning, the book was kept afloat by curious hints at really interesting world-building, interest in seeing how we arrive at the frame narrative that is also hinted at, and the author having some moments of literary writing that balanced out the moments of painfully cliched or awkward prose.
For a very long time, we were willing to forgive a lot and make excuses for everything from the lack of character development or cohesive plot to the incredibly uneven prose and the blatant misogyny (well, my partner moreso than me on the last part). "It's not Wolfe," we told ourselves and one another in moments of frustration. "It's Severian that is unreliable and wooden."
Well, here's the thing: it doesn't matter if it's the author or the narrator clumsily fapping to how clever and badass they are. Either way, I'm the one who has to read it. And I can only read about Severian doing stupid shit for so long before I start to want either a cohesive writing style, an interesting character, or a plot that actually starts to form in a linear way.
This was 290 pages of Severian just reacting to events in stupid ways and Wolfe using archaic words and purple prose to try to hide that nothing worth reading has happened the entire fucking time. No matter how many random characters you bring back from the first hundred pages that turn out to be ~~totally important whoa!!!~~ it won't change the face that the book was terribly-paced, unevenly written, and populated by wooden puppets instead of people.
Listen. I don't have enough time in my life to wade through a river of utter crap just to get to the treasure at the end, which everyone swears is worth it. I don't care how good it is. It's not worth it. And it doesn't matter how many times you use words that seem really impressive because no one uses them, it won't change that what they're saying is empty.
I read the Wheel of Time series. I'm a patient girl. The difference? Good writing, fantastic characters, and a plot that made sense from page to page. Not a bunch of crap like this:
"oh i met a guy on page one and i kept him from getting killed. i now will talk nonstop about how i am super devoted to him even though i will never ever ever give any history or background or other indication that i knew who he was!"
"this guy had a GF who was super hot and apparently coos like a bird all the goddamn time instead of talking (and walks like a prehistoric ostrich, according to the narrator). i saw her from a distance for 15 seconds. i'm in love with her, again with absolutely no insight or description of these feelings!"
meet a guy in the street that you might recognize? race him in your chariot. fuck it. why not. crash into the tentchurch. steal a plot device. go ahead.
pull a girl out of a swamp? Better fuck her! Make sure to talk a lot about how much it will hurt her because you're so big. Oh, and how she has the body of a child! and amnesia! (dingdingding pedo alarm!!!) Also be sure to point out that you definitely did it twice, you absolute heartthrob!
also! she's your grandma maybe??????
It's okay to hit women, especially if you're backhanding them.
"hey i have this ridiculous plot device hidden in my boot so i guess i'll press it to a dead guy's head to see if it revives him even though i have no reason in hell to think it might!"
"This sword isn't for combat except when it is... which is when i will kill 3 guys in seconds with it even though they were taking me to the guy i'm loyal to and have been looking for, and weren't gonna hurt me at all."
"Cannabalism for personal growth!"
I initially enjoyed this book. The language was beautiful, it started with an unusual antihero, and the world building seemed fun. There were hints at Urth being the future of our Earth and mentions of space travel.
Alas, the pace slows down toward the end of book 1 and remains slow, to the point where it becomes mostly a chain of stretched out uneventful episodes, intermingled with the odd relationships of the protagonist with women. Dorcas, the one he really loves, while he likes to have sex with Jolena with the "breasts like melon" and Thecla his first swarm, whom he helped to suicide and still misses.
Terminus Est, the sword of the protagonist, seems to be his real love though, it's mentioned almost on every single of the long 400 pages that I endured to finish the book, in the hope of something exciting to happen.
I don't understand why Neil Gaiman endorsed this book.
Alas, the pace slows down toward the end of book 1 and remains slow, to the point where it becomes mostly a chain of stretched out uneventful episodes, intermingled with the odd relationships of the protagonist with women. Dorcas, the one he really loves, while he likes to have sex with Jolena with the "breasts like melon" and Thecla his first swarm, whom he helped to suicide and still misses.
Terminus Est, the sword of the protagonist, seems to be his real love though, it's mentioned almost on every single of the long 400 pages that I endured to finish the book, in the hope of something exciting to happen.
I don't understand why Neil Gaiman endorsed this book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No