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ethancf's reviews
1293 reviews
When I Arrived at the Castle by E.M. Carroll
4.0
This was probably my most anticipated item of the year, a wait made all the more tantalizing because the shipment went to the wrong consortium member 3(!?) times. It was worth the wait; this is Carroll at her most visually (and narratively) dense. Seeing mixed reviews on here isn't a shock: her endings favor interpretation and ambiguity rather than anything resembling a conventional conclusion, but even this one raises an eyebrow where something like His Face All Red doesn't with its stinger of an ending. That might be a failure, it might not, but regardless of your stance on how it ends, the journey there is something special. If you've read her other work you're familiar with Carroll's use of color; primarily the high contrast red/white/black imagery, but that's taken to a new level here especially towards the end when red vanishes entirely for a handful of pages. There's also something to be said for the larger page size here compared to Through the Woods: a larger canvas gives the book more room to evoke the sinister gothic atmosphere of the titular castle, all doors and hallways and darkness. Despite its short length, this is one you should take your time on: stop, absorb the page, finish, and re-read the whole thing.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
5.0
It's a rare treat to find something that is not only beautifully written, but actually about a topic that matters. Between the World and Me is intensely personal, powerful, and heartbreaking. It's easy for me as a privileged white person to say "Oh, I loved this book and aren't I great for caring about people who aren't privileged white people". I don't have a defense against that. But I really did love this book. So take that as you will, and read it for yourself, because it really is beautiful.
The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island by Dana Alison Levy
4.0
Fun, if a bit slower and less engaging than the first (though I will note that this actually perfectly captures the feel of summer during childhood. It seems to stretch on forever, and then suddenly without warning, it's done). Primary quality of this series seems to be authenticity: the characters not all being cishet/white never feels like its pushing an agenda, it just is natural and totally normal. Now this is obviously done purposefully, but I'm all for the message of diversity here and Levy pulls it off in a very positive and organic way; the method of delivery with the Fletcher parents being different from their kids goes a long way in making this not feel forced. It's never preachy even if it does preach - and if you throw out all the political stuff (which you know the target audience is going to), then this is just a cute and fun family story.
Long live the Family Fletcher.
Long live the Family Fletcher.
The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
4.0
Spectacular and totally unique world building is the main draw here. Sanderson cleverly combines the familiar with the totally novel and it pays off consistently throughout the book, even if the magic system is a little hard to take seriously at times. The use of alt-American history is endlessly fascinating and, like all good fantasy, I just want to spend more time in this world to unravel its secrets.
The mystery here is also set up superbly, with plenty clues, red herrings, and surprises to keep the plot constantly engaging. It's not an easy plot either- things are not handed to the protagonists and their struggles are compelling .
After reading Way of Kings and this, I think Sanderson's biggest issue is one of character development. His characters are fine, but most of their depth comes from the fact that they are wholly unoriginal, so we carry in baggage from previous books. Still, the rest of the book is novel enough to make this easily forgivable.
Setting aside characters, the only other issue I had was the ending didn't feel complete. Obviously there's more to the series but the ending felt very rushed, like we needed an extra chapter (or the book needed to end three chapters prior).
Combining just enough steampunk with regular fantasy so that people who hate steampunk can make it through but people who love it will be satisfied, The Rithmatist is by far one of the most creative YA fantasies I've ever had the pleasure of reading.
The mystery here is also set up superbly, with plenty clues, red herrings, and surprises to keep the plot constantly engaging. It's not an easy plot either- things are not handed to the protagonists and their struggles are compelling .
After reading Way of Kings and this, I think Sanderson's biggest issue is one of character development. His characters are fine, but most of their depth comes from the fact that they are wholly unoriginal, so we carry in baggage from previous books. Still, the rest of the book is novel enough to make this easily forgivable.
Setting aside characters, the only other issue I had was the ending didn't feel complete. Obviously there's more to the series but the ending felt very rushed, like we needed an extra chapter (or the book needed to end three chapters prior).
Combining just enough steampunk with regular fantasy so that people who hate steampunk can make it through but people who love it will be satisfied, The Rithmatist is by far one of the most creative YA fantasies I've ever had the pleasure of reading.
The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume One: At the Edge of Empire by Daniel Kraus
5.0
Audio.
Finishing this a second time was even more of a joy. Not only is Heybourne's narration exquisite, but knowing the story beats in advance negates some of the slowness of the opening, giving you more time to relish in the beautiful prose. I cannot wait for the sequel!
Finishing this a second time was even more of a joy. Not only is Heybourne's narration exquisite, but knowing the story beats in advance negates some of the slowness of the opening, giving you more time to relish in the beautiful prose. I cannot wait for the sequel!
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
4.0
Picking up a year after the conclusion of The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension immediately hooks by being quite different from its predecessor. Where the Final Empire was about a fantasy world in which the prophesied hero failed, this book is about what the fantasy world looks like after the clichéd dark lord is defeated – something that most fantasy series choose to simply bypass by ending with ‘happily ever after’. This is immediately compelling and gives Sanderson great opportunities to flex his creative worldbuilding muscles, which have already proven to be very strong. This book also seems like good practice for the lengthy political and moral philosophizing that would take place in The Stormlight Archive as Elend’s character is much more developed here than in book one.
The main issue here is a typical fantasy author issue: wheel-spinning. There’s a few incredibly predictable story beats that plod along for far too long, and the books only saving grace in these moments is that the magic system is so well defined and clever that when someone does something unexpected it’s very satisfying and doesn’t feel trite or cheap. As much as I like this time spent on worldbuilding and character development (and I guess listening to Michael Kramer), this book probably could’ve been about 30% shorter and been better for it. The middle sags considerably, but the last 30 minutes of the audiobook were utterly riveting and intense. With fantasy trope examination out of the way, Sanderson is clearly bringing something epic and novel to the last volume of this trilogy, and I’m eagerly looking forward to listening to its conclusion (though I'll note book one was better than this one. Maybe I just like heists.)
The main issue here is a typical fantasy author issue: wheel-spinning. There’s a few incredibly predictable story beats that plod along for far too long, and the books only saving grace in these moments is that the magic system is so well defined and clever that when someone does something unexpected it’s very satisfying and doesn’t feel trite or cheap. As much as I like this time spent on worldbuilding and character development (and I guess listening to Michael Kramer), this book probably could’ve been about 30% shorter and been better for it. The middle sags considerably, but the last 30 minutes of the audiobook were utterly riveting and intense. With fantasy trope examination out of the way, Sanderson is clearly bringing something epic and novel to the last volume of this trilogy, and I’m eagerly looking forward to listening to its conclusion (though I'll note book one was better than this one. Maybe I just like heists.)
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson
4.0
Story and prose wise this isn't one of Sanderson's strongest, but it is nevertheless compelling and filled with intriguing characters who are surprisingly well developed, especially considering Sanderson's history of subpar character development and the length of this piece.
But really the strength of this comes, as usual for Sanderson, from the worldbuilding. This is easily my favorite of his worlds he's introduced us to in the Cosmere, mostly because it fits into my own worldbuilding aesthetic tendencies. It's dark, pseudo-Western, having more in common with horror fiction than typical short fantasy. It's just so intriguing, I can't wait for more from this particular slice of the Cosmere so I can eagerly rip it off and throw into my Dnd campaign.
But really the strength of this comes, as usual for Sanderson, from the worldbuilding. This is easily my favorite of his worlds he's introduced us to in the Cosmere, mostly because it fits into my own worldbuilding aesthetic tendencies. It's dark, pseudo-Western, having more in common with horror fiction than typical short fantasy. It's just so intriguing, I can't wait for more from this particular slice of the Cosmere so I can eagerly rip it off and throw into my Dnd campaign.
Dungeons & Dragons, Vol 3: Down by John Rogers
4.0
Kinda bummed this series never continued past this. As archetypal and fluffy as it was, I got attached to a few of these characters and the brisk pace meant they were always a joy to read. Definitely recommend the series to d&d fans!
Aliens Omnibus Volume 3 by Ian Edginton
3.0
Solid collection of Alien shorts. I love the universe and its partially the design of the alien itself that makes me attracted to the franchise so having a book full of its art is a good draw. I picked up volume 3 of the Omnibus series only because it features Mignola's Alien story which I'd had a tough time finding.
The first story, Rogue, has very late 80s/early90s comic book art which, despite its horribleness, I love. It's a pretty stock Alien story - evil corporation exploiting the blue collar/military workforce. It does introduce a male alien though, which is very interesting and the short has a lot to say about masculinity. It isn't quite explored enough but it's a good enough story.
Sacrifice is the second story and has really amazing ethereal art. It's also one of the better explorations of the religious themes explored in the franchise. It's quick but is really interesting and maybe the highlight of this volume.
Labyrinth came next and has a pretty fitting title; while the narrative eventually became fairly stock for an Alien story (mad scientist/evil corp, etc) there's a lot of layers to the narrative and some complicated structure here. All it really ends up doing is making the pacing a mess but it's definitely a satisfying read for any gorehound Alien fans.
Salvation was the story I came for - it's Mignola's take on the universe, and really I just came for the art. His rendering of the Alien is truly magnificent. As for the story, it's alright, a little too quick, but he does do a great job of actually combining the corporate and religious themes of the franchise into one - which only makes its short length all the more disappointing. If you follow my movie reviews you might recall that Fincher's inability to actually merge the two themes was my biggest gripe (outside of CGI) about Alien 3, so Mignola's success here is a little bittersweet. Mostly sweet though, because damn that art. His style isn't for everyone but there's nothing else like it.
The last three stories - Advent/Terminus, Reaper, and Horror Show were very quick. Horror Show was very interesting but ultimately too short to explore anything meaningfully. Reaper was bizarre. Advent/Terminus felt...redundant and kinda stale.
Overall worth browsing through for Sacrifice and Salvation - especially if you're interested in all the religious iconography this franchise has featured.
The first story, Rogue, has very late 80s/early90s comic book art which, despite its horribleness, I love. It's a pretty stock Alien story - evil corporation exploiting the blue collar/military workforce. It does introduce a male alien though, which is very interesting and the short has a lot to say about masculinity. It isn't quite explored enough but it's a good enough story.
Sacrifice is the second story and has really amazing ethereal art. It's also one of the better explorations of the religious themes explored in the franchise. It's quick but is really interesting and maybe the highlight of this volume.
Labyrinth came next and has a pretty fitting title; while the narrative eventually became fairly stock for an Alien story (mad scientist/evil corp, etc) there's a lot of layers to the narrative and some complicated structure here. All it really ends up doing is making the pacing a mess but it's definitely a satisfying read for any gorehound Alien fans.
Salvation was the story I came for - it's Mignola's take on the universe, and really I just came for the art. His rendering of the Alien is truly magnificent. As for the story, it's alright, a little too quick, but he does do a great job of actually combining the corporate and religious themes of the franchise into one - which only makes its short length all the more disappointing. If you follow my movie reviews you might recall that Fincher's inability to actually merge the two themes was my biggest gripe (outside of CGI) about Alien 3, so Mignola's success here is a little bittersweet. Mostly sweet though, because damn that art. His style isn't for everyone but there's nothing else like it.
The last three stories - Advent/Terminus, Reaper, and Horror Show were very quick. Horror Show was very interesting but ultimately too short to explore anything meaningfully. Reaper was bizarre. Advent/Terminus felt...redundant and kinda stale.
Overall worth browsing through for Sacrifice and Salvation - especially if you're interested in all the religious iconography this franchise has featured.