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matt_and_cheez's Reviews (493)
Overall I found this book lackluster and not really that remarkable. I did mark a few places with interesting facts and linguistic terms I didn't know before, but as a whole, the book was average. The writing was jarring at times- sometimes Dorren would end the chapter with a profound statement that wasn't entirely expanded on beforehand. I also found his political jabs out of place and for the most part unnecessary. For example, he had to throw in a Trump-Putin reference in the section about Russian, which would have been fine if he was discussing language policies enacted by them, or anything else remotely related to the content besides Putin speaking Russian. I also didn't really like how the content was presented differently across sections- sometimes like an interview, another like a dictionary, and another like a history textbook.
Disappointing to say the least. However, if you know very little about how language works and/or aren't familiar with any of the particular languages spoken about, you will still learn a thing or two.
Disappointing to say the least. However, if you know very little about how language works and/or aren't familiar with any of the particular languages spoken about, you will still learn a thing or two.
It's taken me about 4 tries throughout a decade to get further than 20% into it. The beginning is definitely a slow-burner, and yes, the entire thing is full of fantasy tropes and cliches (I suspect that this series has created some of them). However, the impact this series has had bridging classical and modern fantasy is too big to ignore. Going in it's best to accept that the Tolkien influences will be obvious, but they are used magnificently. What has really sold me is the dark and grisly moments this book brings that Tolkien's works do not. The fight scenes felt more like something from George R.R. Martin, but with more magic. I've heard that the series comes into its own after a few books, so I'm looking forward to continuing.
Horrible. The translation read weird, the characters were one-dimensional, the ending was totally predictable.
I finally caved in and read this after years of hearing about how scary this and the movie adaptation are. I sort of knew what to expect, so I suppose that took a lot of the scariness out of it. It was still disturbing, but nothing I couldn't handle. I suppose if you have some belief in possession this book will definitely freak you out, but I didn't find it that way. The dialogue was a little cheesy at times, but the suspense of what the demon will do next keeps you reading.
