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mav_ka's reviews
29 reviews
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
the first time gurgeh feels something is when a fellow player suspects him of cheating. that momentous, sinking feeling would lead some to get embarrassed, but not gurgeh. he feels thrilled. why? maybe it's a change in a routine. change is good. this is something unexpected.
the second time gurgeh feels happiness is when he's competing against the wunderkind girl (she has a name, i just don't remember it). but gurgeh's happiness is not truly happiness; it's the absence of sorrow. he is so concentrated on the game that he forgets to eat. he loses track of time. the concentration, the obsession is what makes him forget he is supposed to be brooding and unhappy. this is his happiness. as close to happiness as he can get.
his happiness clearly revolves around games, so what can he do to catch this feeling and make it last? well, that's what the rest of the book is about. in a way. the book is actually about a lot of things, but i am always more interested in dissecting the emotional journeys than the physical ones, hence my bias in this entire review. in fact, this is not even a review. this is just me putting my thoughts down on paper. if you want a review, this is not it.
gurgeh's obsession during his game with the wunderkind girl leads him to make a misguided choice in the intermission, which kickstarts the events of the book.
THIS is where the book got truly interesting to me. it took me weeks to get through the first half of part 1. it only took me a few days to get through the rest of the book (a book club deadline helped, of course, but it wasn't a slog anymore. i sprouted wings and was flying through the pages)
the real essence of the story starts when gurgeh accepts the offer to go play a game in a far corner of the galaxy. sounds boring, but there is a catch.
1) Culture has kept this particular game secret for seven years, to the point where even Gurgeh, the famous player, has not heard anything about it.
2) The game is used to decide on who becomes the next Emperor, and it also dictates other important government positions. The game is literally an election. Some might even say a rigged one.
the game might be rigged to serve the benefits of the people who play it, but to gurgeh, it's just a game. there are no stakes for him except his personal enjoyment. which makes his final game so interesting to me. in a way, it mirrors his obsession at the start of the book, where he was playing the game with the wunderkind girl, but on a much larger scale. he forgets to eat. he has to be told to sleep. he even has to be reminded to urinate! what a guy. but he is truly happy. or at least, his version of happiness. the absence of sorrow. meanwhile, his opponent has bet everything on this game. when they finally get to talk about it, gurgeh is almost in love; he talks about it like a delicate, intimate dance that nobody else could understand. his opponent, though, strikes him and yells at him in frustration. he can't enjoy the game the same way gurgeh did. while gurgeh was just trying to find a way out of the pit of mid-life crisis, his opponent was trying to prove his superiority over the entire Culture, the place from which gurgeh came from.
the book is so good. i dont tend to enjoy sci-fi as much for some reason, but this one? this one was so worth it. it had:
- a slightly slower start that might get you to put down the book if you are not immediately sucked into it (but keep going until you finish chapter 1 and then decide whether you are going to DNF the book)
- an absolutely insane writing style (i say, affectionately). i literally fell in love with some passages. give this a try.
- what a PLOT. at first it's heading nowhere, but when it picks up, it picks up. like. not much i can say. even when i predicted some moments, the writing style and the personal journey of the characters getting there made it such an enjoyable read.
strong 4 gurgehs out of 5 unpronounceable names. what a read.
my favorite out-of-context quote that is not gonna tell you anything but will maybe show you why i fell in love with the writing style:
and another one:
4.0
we start with gurgeh. gurgeh is having a mid-life crisis. gurgeh lives in the Culture, a sort of a utopia. he is free to pursue what he wants, his days are filled with relaxing activities that are typical of what an average person might get up to on a long weekend, except gurgeh gets to do this all day, every day. he gets to play games, write research papers about games, hike in the most beautiful natural scenery, and host friends over for social gatherings whenever he wants.
and he. is. not. happy. what went wrong?
what is happiness for gurgeh? his bubbly friend yay (yup, that's the name) might offer some insight into gurgeh's emotional state. she is constantly coming up with bonkers creative ideas, hanging out with people and enjoying dating people left and right. if gurgeh was the definition of misery at the start of the book, yay would be anti-misery. anti-gurgeh. they are so different yet they've been friends for the longest time. in the beginning, we literally see gurgeh try to follow in yay's footsteps to borrow some of her happiness, try to understand why she is so happy in their utopian world and he isn't. he plays a game with yay -- it doesn't attract him (it's not intellectual enough for him). he invites her friends over for a social gathering -- yay leaves with someone to spend the night; gurgeh attemps to hook up with someone too. it's almost like he's asking himself, "what would yay do?", and following up on that. yet it only lasts for a night. in the morning, he is back into his shell, wanting some time alone, and his date gets offended by the lack of affection and leaves.
yay is clearly not a solution to gurgeh's misery. so what is?
and he. is. not. happy. what went wrong?
what is happiness for gurgeh? his bubbly friend yay (yup, that's the name) might offer some insight into gurgeh's emotional state. she is constantly coming up with bonkers creative ideas, hanging out with people and enjoying dating people left and right. if gurgeh was the definition of misery at the start of the book, yay would be anti-misery. anti-gurgeh. they are so different yet they've been friends for the longest time. in the beginning, we literally see gurgeh try to follow in yay's footsteps to borrow some of her happiness, try to understand why she is so happy in their utopian world and he isn't. he plays a game with yay -- it doesn't attract him (it's not intellectual enough for him). he invites her friends over for a social gathering -- yay leaves with someone to spend the night; gurgeh attemps to hook up with someone too. it's almost like he's asking himself, "what would yay do?", and following up on that. yet it only lasts for a night. in the morning, he is back into his shell, wanting some time alone, and his date gets offended by the lack of affection and leaves.
yay is clearly not a solution to gurgeh's misery. so what is?
"What weather." She tossed her drink back. "No wonder you live by yourself, Gurgeh."
"Oh, that isn't the rain, Yay," Gurgeh said. "That's me. Nobody can stand to live with me for long."
"He means," Chamlis said, "that he couldn't stand to live for long with anybody."
"I'd believe either."
the first time gurgeh feels something is when a fellow player suspects him of cheating. that momentous, sinking feeling would lead some to get embarrassed, but not gurgeh. he feels thrilled. why? maybe it's a change in a routine. change is good. this is something unexpected.
the second time gurgeh feels happiness is when he's competing against the wunderkind girl (she has a name, i just don't remember it). but gurgeh's happiness is not truly happiness; it's the absence of sorrow. he is so concentrated on the game that he forgets to eat. he loses track of time. the concentration, the obsession is what makes him forget he is supposed to be brooding and unhappy. this is his happiness. as close to happiness as he can get.
his happiness clearly revolves around games, so what can he do to catch this feeling and make it last? well, that's what the rest of the book is about. in a way. the book is actually about a lot of things, but i am always more interested in dissecting the emotional journeys than the physical ones, hence my bias in this entire review. in fact, this is not even a review. this is just me putting my thoughts down on paper. if you want a review, this is not it.
gurgeh's obsession during his game with the wunderkind girl leads him to make a misguided choice in the intermission, which kickstarts the events of the book.
Why had he done it? Why couldn't it just not have happened? Why didn't they have time-travel, why couldn't he go back and stop it happening? Ships that could circumnavigate the galaxy in a few years, and count every cell in your body from light-years off, but he wasn't able to go back one miserable day and alter one tiny, stupid, idiotic, shameful decision...
THIS is where the book got truly interesting to me. it took me weeks to get through the first half of part 1. it only took me a few days to get through the rest of the book (a book club deadline helped, of course, but it wasn't a slog anymore. i sprouted wings and was flying through the pages)
the real essence of the story starts when gurgeh accepts the offer to go play a game in a far corner of the galaxy. sounds boring, but there is a catch.
1) Culture has kept this particular game secret for seven years, to the point where even Gurgeh, the famous player, has not heard anything about it.
2) The game is used to decide on who becomes the next Emperor, and it also dictates other important government positions. The game is literally an election. Some might even say a rigged one.
the game might be rigged to serve the benefits of the people who play it, but to gurgeh, it's just a game. there are no stakes for him except his personal enjoyment. which makes his final game so interesting to me. in a way, it mirrors his obsession at the start of the book, where he was playing the game with the wunderkind girl, but on a much larger scale. he forgets to eat. he has to be told to sleep. he even has to be reminded to urinate! what a guy. but he is truly happy. or at least, his version of happiness. the absence of sorrow. meanwhile, his opponent has bet everything on this game. when they finally get to talk about it, gurgeh is almost in love; he talks about it like a delicate, intimate dance that nobody else could understand. his opponent, though, strikes him and yells at him in frustration. he can't enjoy the game the same way gurgeh did. while gurgeh was just trying to find a way out of the pit of mid-life crisis, his opponent was trying to prove his superiority over the entire Culture, the place from which gurgeh came from.
the book is so good. i dont tend to enjoy sci-fi as much for some reason, but this one? this one was so worth it. it had:
- a slightly slower start that might get you to put down the book if you are not immediately sucked into it (but keep going until you finish chapter 1 and then decide whether you are going to DNF the book)
- an absolutely insane writing style (i say, affectionately). i literally fell in love with some passages. give this a try.
- what a PLOT. at first it's heading nowhere, but when it picks up, it picks up. like. not much i can say. even when i predicted some moments, the writing style and the personal journey of the characters getting there made it such an enjoyable read.
strong 4 gurgehs out of 5 unpronounceable names. what a read.
my favorite out-of-context quote that is not gonna tell you anything but will maybe show you why i fell in love with the writing style:
Gurgeh watched the screen.
Flere-Imsaho watched Gurgeh.
The man's eyes glittered in the screen-light, unused photons reflecting from the halo of iris. The pupils widened at first, then shrank, became pinpoints. The drone waited to the wide, staring eyes to fill with moisture, for the tiny muscles around the eyes to flinch and the eyelids to close and the man to shake his head and turn away, but nothing of the sort happened. The screen held his gaze, as though the infinitesimal pressure of light it spent upon the room had somehow reversed, and so sucked the watching man forward, to hold him, teetering before the fall, fixed and steady and pointed at the flickering surface like some long-stilled moon.
and another one:
There was a strange metallic taste in his mouth, and at first he thought it was the implant, rejecting, surfacing, for some reason reappearing, but then he knew that it wasn't, and realized, for the first time in his life, that fear really did have a taste.
The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
4.5 / 5
At this point, this review has been sitting so long in my drafts that I don't think I'm going to finish it. Maybe one day. But so far, here are some of my incomplete thoughts so I can be done with this book and move on :)
I believe that the enjoyment of a book is highly dependent on reading it at the right time and place, and for me, The Sword of Kaigen was one such book.
It starts off really slowly -- a transfer student joins an old, traditional school in a village where they teach young boys to be sword masters. Many of the boys come from respectable families with years of tradition and secret blood techniques behind their belts. The transfer student brings chaos into the life of one such student -- Mamoru, the descendant of a powerful family who lives to master the secret Whispering Blase technique, a blade made of ice that can cut through steel.
And you'd think this was a classic, coming-of-age, I-am-an-anime-protagonist-who-will-defeat-everything-with-the-power-of-friendship kind of story. BUT IT IS NOT. We get to find out about Mamoru's family, specifically his mother, Misaki. Raised in a village with traditional gender roles where noble women are expected to only make babies and take care of their husbands, she has an unexpectedly violent past. With a husband who refuses to acknowledge her capabilities, she has had to put all of that away in favor of raising her husband's children.
It is a complicated story about a broken family. It is a story about how (and if) they will mend themselves together, and whether the adversities they face will make or break them.
It was a journey. As a self-published book, it gets away with having story structures that would not be allowed in regularly published books. It (mild spoiler for the theme, but not the events)has the main climax happen somewhere in the middle, and then it is used to really bring forward a character arc in a wonderful culmination of events. Even though it's an unusual structure, it didn't feel weird. But I'm a little weird as a reader where I tend to ignore similar flaws when I'm really immersed in the story (usually because I care about the characters so much). And in this story, I cared a lot.
THE WRITING FLOWS SO WELL. Some of the quotes are absolute bangers. While different people had different feelings about it, I could take apart chapter 27 and write an entire review just about that; that's how much it impacted me.
There are detailed descriptions of combat vaguely inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender. I don't enjoy those as much, but having it happen to characters that I was actively rooting for definitely helped.
Characters! The character arcs were so well-written. I feel like this book focused more on the emotional sides of the characters than any other adult fantasy book tbh. Not sure if that is something that usually gets "fixed" in traditional publishing since there seems to be a trend of toning down the emotional parts for adult fantasy books, but I enjoyed it immensely and am glad it stayed. I was trying to figure out how this book stood out from other exceptional character-driven fantasy I've read, and I think those other books focused more on the consequences of the character having feelings and more on pondering about feelings, while this book focused on the feelings themselves. It's the difference between describing a punch to the gut and actually feeling it happen to you. This book makes you feel it.
And worldbuilding, weeeeell, don't count on it too much? It serves as a decent setting, but there is not much that stands out, and a more critical reader will notice certain plot holes and inconsistencies in the world. It's done well enough for this standalone book, but from what I've heard, the author has abandoned this setting, and good for her.
Overall, I enjoyed this immensely.
At this point, this review has been sitting so long in my drafts that I don't think I'm going to finish it. Maybe one day. But so far, here are some of my incomplete thoughts so I can be done with this book and move on :)
I believe that the enjoyment of a book is highly dependent on reading it at the right time and place, and for me, The Sword of Kaigen was one such book.
It starts off really slowly -- a transfer student joins an old, traditional school in a village where they teach young boys to be sword masters. Many of the boys come from respectable families with years of tradition and secret blood techniques behind their belts. The transfer student brings chaos into the life of one such student -- Mamoru, the descendant of a powerful family who lives to master the secret Whispering Blase technique, a blade made of ice that can cut through steel.
And you'd think this was a classic, coming-of-age, I-am-an-anime-protagonist-who-will-defeat-everything-with-the-power-of-friendship kind of story. BUT IT IS NOT. We get to find out about Mamoru's family, specifically his mother, Misaki. Raised in a village with traditional gender roles where noble women are expected to only make babies and take care of their husbands, she has an unexpectedly violent past. With a husband who refuses to acknowledge her capabilities, she has had to put all of that away in favor of raising her husband's children.
It is a complicated story about a broken family. It is a story about how (and if) they will mend themselves together, and whether the adversities they face will make or break them.
It was a journey. As a self-published book, it gets away with having story structures that would not be allowed in regularly published books. It (mild spoiler for the theme, but not the events)
THE WRITING FLOWS SO WELL. Some of the quotes are absolute bangers. While different people had different feelings about it, I could take apart chapter 27 and write an entire review just about that; that's how much it impacted me.
There are detailed descriptions of combat vaguely inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender. I don't enjoy those as much, but having it happen to characters that I was actively rooting for definitely helped.
Characters! The character arcs were so well-written. I feel like this book focused more on the emotional sides of the characters than any other adult fantasy book tbh. Not sure if that is something that usually gets "fixed" in traditional publishing since there seems to be a trend of toning down the emotional parts for adult fantasy books, but I enjoyed it immensely and am glad it stayed. I was trying to figure out how this book stood out from other exceptional character-driven fantasy I've read, and I think those other books focused more on the consequences of the character having feelings and more on pondering about feelings, while this book focused on the feelings themselves. It's the difference between describing a punch to the gut and actually feeling it happen to you. This book makes you feel it.
And worldbuilding, weeeeell, don't count on it too much? It serves as a decent setting, but there is not much that stands out, and a more critical reader will notice certain plot holes and inconsistencies in the world. It's done well enough for this standalone book, but from what I've heard, the author has abandoned this setting, and good for her.
Overall, I enjoyed this immensely.
Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
It was an absolutely wonderful ending to a series, despite all the dark, horrible things that happened to the characters throughout, and I would recommend this series to anyone and everyone even remotely interested in fantasy with well-written characters.
With that said, I want to dive into a spoiler-filled review, so there will be lots of spoilers! Right after this paragraph, it's a free-for-all. No spoiler is safe from me. I will hide the entire review because of spoilers, but just in case, I wanted to make it very clear you shouldn't read this if you didn't finish the series.
Let the spoilers begin.
Kennit. Wow, okay. Fucking Kennit. I loved his silly-goofy story in the first book. I started to tire of him in the second book. And in the third book, I don't even know what to think anymore. To me, Kennit raises some interesting questions that I've always pondered and could never find an answer to:
1) If you do a lot of good in the world, do your intentions really matter?
and
2) What should we do with a legacy of people who did a lot of good in their time, but also left a terrible mark on the world?
At times, Kennit seemed like he genuinely cared about doing good in the world. He was ecstatic about putting up watchtowers to protect Divvytown. He wanted to protect Wintrow because nobody protected Kennit like that at his age. But his incompleteness showed. His calculativeness. Lack of empathy. Later, it is revealed that Paragon took a lot of Kennit's pain, and I think that's what made him broken. Pain and sorrow make up a lot of our experiences. If you take them away, part of you goes away, too. I almost think that it was a missing chunk of those experiences that made it easier for Kennit to do those terrible things to Althea. And that's when destiny turned away from her golden boy. The last good he could do in this world was to die.
Someone tells Wintrow he must be the one to raise Kennit's child, not because he knew how great the pirate was, but because he knew all of him. The good and the terrible. In a way, it's hard to decide whether to reject or to praise a person like Kennit. It feels like you must do both. It is easy for me to decide; I can deject Kennit because I was never attached to him. My lack of interest in him in the second book saved me. But what about Wintrow? Kennit has raised him and offered him a safe place. But he also raped his aunt. Any time Althea comes back to the Pirate Isles, she has to be reminded of this man. It's bad enough she has to stare into his eyes any time she goes near Paragon. But hearing people praise the same man who ruined her life in a single night? Yeah. Ouch. I'm only glad that in this universe, Paragon was able to make it easier for Althea to move forward. She deserves that much.
Queen Etta. It pains me to think that Kennit hasn't even considered calling her like this (not even once in his POV!), but thank Hobb for Wintrow. Wintrow was the first to recognize her as such because, in his mind, there was never any doubt about it. Etta deserves the world. She has been through so much, and that final scene with her absolutely captivating the Jamaillian nobility feels right. I wish Paragon told her the truth about Kennit because it feels like ripping off a bandage. It would have hurt more to know he never loved her, but I feel like she would have been able to heal easier in the long term? But at the same time, I don't know what would have happened to her if she found out the man she idolized felt nothing for her. She is very proud, and I'm pretty sure shame alone would have killed her right there and then. So maybe it's for the best.
And I do wish Wintrow and Etta all the best. Even though she's never going to be completely his (allegedly, according to Amber, and Amber rarely misses her mark), I'm still happy Wintrow is by Etta's side. Their last scene together? "When you are ready, I will be honored to partner you." Very smooth, Wintrow. Veeery smooth. They are talking about dancing btw. Nothing else, of course :)
And Sorcor finding out Etta carries Kennit's child!! Bwahahahaha. I just need a short story about Sorcor absolutely annoying Etta during pregnancy because he's so worried about the two of them. "No more swordplay until after the baby's born, now." I can just feel Etta seething from all this treatment :"DD
Serilla finally gets adopted by Ronica Vestrit. It was my funny silly little headcanon I kept close to heart, but I am so glad it is official now. I really enjoyed Ronica's earlier unapologetic rudeness and Serilla fighting her like a teenager going through a rebellious phase. Despite their initial fighting, these women wanted each other to succeed. Serilla needed Ronica more than she was willing to admit. Serilla's one dream was to live the rest of her life in Bingtown, where she could be respected and looked up to regardless of her gender. Ronica, in a way, was living Serilla's dream. Ronice refused to bow down and apologize; she was strong and determined in the face of adversity. And she tried to pass the same advice to Serilla. Your past does not need to define you. I'm glad Serilla finally got rid of the toxic men in her life and found the one family that is willing to accept her as she is.
On another note, assigning Serilla to speak for Keffria is such a delightful "fuck you" to Satrap who literally just kicked Serilla out of this position because he needed a scapegoat. Part of me is sad I won't get to see him find out about it because I want to see him mad :pp
Amber is the Fool. It's not confirmed, but we got something as good as confirmation. "Carve me a face you could love"? The "ornamental" axe with bucks on it? Amber's disappointment at finding out Paragon got blue eyes? "They're supposed to be dark brown, nearly black." And her expressing a desire to go north to meddle in her friend's affairs? Yeah, go figure. It was basically the best the author could do without directly climbing out of the book and yelling, "Amber is the Fool, you fool!" I am convinced. Perhaps the lack of direct confirmation (and therefore, the lack of certainty) is what's best in anything related to the Fool. Such a mysterious figure deserves to keep an air of mystery around them.
The Elderlings! Oh my fucking god. What did Tintaglia mean, saying Malta would be "very pleased" to discover the power of her red scales? That definitely means that the color of your scales is a sign of which power you got from the dragon, but what power is that??? I guess I won't find out until a year or two later. Or maybe even never! But, given how much the Elderlings mean to the series (they are literally in the title, come on), I think we'll encounter the answer to this mystery eventually.
Also, Malta and Reyn. There is something so hilarious about how these two can only think of each other amidst a world-ending crisis. What's even funnier is this happened twice! The first time, it was during the ball, right before Bingtown got attacked. The second time is now, captured on a pirate ship, in the middle of the attack by the Jamaillian force. They are literally getting boarded and all they can think about is how the other will not accept them 'cuz they're ugly now. Ugh, guys! Get your priorities straight! (I say, affectionately, because that was such a nice way to break some of the tension in-between battles) Like, literally, the first thing Malta says to Althea is not "oh my god are you okay??" or "oh my god is Satrap okay???", it's "oh my gosh Reyn thinks I'm pretty!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Malta. For fuck's sake. I love her so much :"DDD
And that final ball in Jamallia feels like everything just came full circle for Malta. She literally fantasized about going to Jamallia (I'm misspelling it, aren't I) at the beginning of the first book. She followed all their trends like the wide-eyed, naive girl she was. And now, she is setting her own fashion trends. Nobles have plucked their eyebrows out to replace them with gemstones to try to mimic even a fraction of her beauty. She has a pretty dress and pretty jewellery, yet she's not as happy as she thought she would be. That's because her rough journey forced her to grow up and she values different things now. But it's all well now because I believe she finally found her destiny. And she seems happy with it. I'm happy for her.
The only thing that would have made this book better is seeing all the Vestrits at one table together. They all grew up so much! There are so many of them I haven't mentioned but I was amazed by everyone's growth. There is something so interesting about Selden's story in particular. In the previous books, I forgot he was even there because Keffria protected him and didn't allow him to go out and find his destiny in the world. In the third book, we see more of him because Keffria is busy with other things, so Selden gets to sneak out from under her wing and explore the world. He really begins to shine in the third book as he's given more freedom. And when things finally come back to normal, Keffria sees that going back to protecting him and sheltering him against the world will do him no good. Keffria lets him go. The entire thing with Selden feels almost like a metaphor; we forget he even exists in the first two books because he's not allowed to go out into the world and find himself, be himself. But once he seizes the chance to flee his mother's watchful eye and we are allowed to see him for who he is, he turns out to be such a resourceful and witty young boy. He'll go far in the world.
Of course, it is also bittersweet. Both of Keffria's children have been claimed by their destiny in the Rain Wilds now, and it is sad to think about their separation. But Keffria herself has changed, too. She is no longer a little girl cowering behind her mother's skirts; she stands tall and proud. She makes her own decisions. People look up to her. And she came to realize she likes this kind of thing. She wanted Kyle to protect her and care for her because she saw how hard her mother had it when their father was gone. But now that she stepped up to Ronica's place, she found that she likes this. She likes being in control of her destiny. I'm happy for her.
There were times when I was impatient with this book. It really started at the halfway mark. I could see how everyone's destinies were meant to converge, yet it was multiple POVs and chapters later that the things talked about would finally start to happen. And that was a neverending cycle for half of the book. It was like watching that overhead shot of all the agents running into the building in Matrix. Yet imagine you saw that shot and were then hit with half-an-hour exposition/backstory/filler stuff before you could finally find out what happened in the building. The challenge with juggling so many POVs was bringing them all together, and it was a slow, arduous task. You really had to be there for the journey, but all I wanted was for the book to get to the point. It could have just been my mood. It also made me wonder how I was able to devour Assassin's Quest without similar problems. But it is what it is. I knocked off half a star just for the fact that this could have been two books, not one, just for the sake of my sanity. But don't get me wrong; it was still a wonderful ending. Once the book did get to the point, it was a wonderful conclusion to the story. I have a feeling I will come back to re-read it many times.
And there are so many other things I liked that I didn't even mention in this review! The destiny of all the dragons. The liveships. Vivacia finding herself. Jek finally getting laid. The themes of destiny and not letting your past define you. So many wonderful things, yet I feel like I am capable of writing only so many words before I want to get done with this review and get to the point.
And the point is this: what a wonderful ending for a wonderful story. 4.5/5 stars, and what a glorious, shining 4.5 that is. More shiny than any other 4.5 I've ever given out, that's for sure.
With that said, I want to dive into a spoiler-filled review, so there will be lots of spoilers! Right after this paragraph, it's a free-for-all. No spoiler is safe from me. I will hide the entire review because of spoilers, but just in case, I wanted to make it very clear you shouldn't read this if you didn't finish the series.
Let the spoilers begin.
1) If you do a lot of good in the world, do your intentions really matter?
and
2) What should we do with a legacy of people who did a lot of good in their time, but also left a terrible mark on the world?
At times, Kennit seemed like he genuinely cared about doing good in the world. He was ecstatic about putting up watchtowers to protect Divvytown. He wanted to protect Wintrow because nobody protected Kennit like that at his age. But his incompleteness showed. His calculativeness. Lack of empathy. Later, it is revealed that Paragon took a lot of Kennit's pain, and I think that's what made him broken. Pain and sorrow make up a lot of our experiences. If you take them away, part of you goes away, too. I almost think that it was a missing chunk of those experiences that made it easier for Kennit to do those terrible things to Althea. And that's when destiny turned away from her golden boy. The last good he could do in this world was to die.
Someone tells Wintrow he must be the one to raise Kennit's child, not because he knew how great the pirate was, but because he knew all of him. The good and the terrible. In a way, it's hard to decide whether to reject or to praise a person like Kennit. It feels like you must do both. It is easy for me to decide; I can deject Kennit because I was never attached to him. My lack of interest in him in the second book saved me. But what about Wintrow? Kennit has raised him and offered him a safe place. But he also raped his aunt. Any time Althea comes back to the Pirate Isles, she has to be reminded of this man. It's bad enough she has to stare into his eyes any time she goes near Paragon. But hearing people praise the same man who ruined her life in a single night? Yeah. Ouch. I'm only glad that in this universe, Paragon was able to make it easier for Althea to move forward. She deserves that much.
Queen Etta. It pains me to think that Kennit hasn't even considered calling her like this (not even once in his POV!), but thank Hobb for Wintrow. Wintrow was the first to recognize her as such because, in his mind, there was never any doubt about it. Etta deserves the world. She has been through so much, and that final scene with her absolutely captivating the Jamaillian nobility feels right. I wish Paragon told her the truth about Kennit because it feels like ripping off a bandage. It would have hurt more to know he never loved her, but I feel like she would have been able to heal easier in the long term? But at the same time, I don't know what would have happened to her if she found out the man she idolized felt nothing for her. She is very proud, and I'm pretty sure shame alone would have killed her right there and then. So maybe it's for the best.
And I do wish Wintrow and Etta all the best. Even though she's never going to be completely his (allegedly, according to Amber, and Amber rarely misses her mark), I'm still happy Wintrow is by Etta's side. Their last scene together? "When you are ready, I will be honored to partner you." Very smooth, Wintrow. Veeery smooth. They are talking about dancing btw. Nothing else, of course :)
And Sorcor finding out Etta carries Kennit's child!! Bwahahahaha. I just need a short story about Sorcor absolutely annoying Etta during pregnancy because he's so worried about the two of them. "No more swordplay until after the baby's born, now." I can just feel Etta seething from all this treatment :"DD
Serilla finally gets adopted by Ronica Vestrit. It was my funny silly little headcanon I kept close to heart, but I am so glad it is official now. I really enjoyed Ronica's earlier unapologetic rudeness and Serilla fighting her like a teenager going through a rebellious phase. Despite their initial fighting, these women wanted each other to succeed. Serilla needed Ronica more than she was willing to admit. Serilla's one dream was to live the rest of her life in Bingtown, where she could be respected and looked up to regardless of her gender. Ronica, in a way, was living Serilla's dream. Ronice refused to bow down and apologize; she was strong and determined in the face of adversity. And she tried to pass the same advice to Serilla. Your past does not need to define you. I'm glad Serilla finally got rid of the toxic men in her life and found the one family that is willing to accept her as she is.
On another note, assigning Serilla to speak for Keffria is such a delightful "fuck you" to Satrap who literally just kicked Serilla out of this position because he needed a scapegoat. Part of me is sad I won't get to see him find out about it because I want to see him mad :pp
Amber is the Fool. It's not confirmed, but we got something as good as confirmation. "Carve me a face you could love"? The "ornamental" axe with bucks on it? Amber's disappointment at finding out Paragon got blue eyes? "They're supposed to be dark brown, nearly black." And her expressing a desire to go north to meddle in her friend's affairs? Yeah, go figure. It was basically the best the author could do without directly climbing out of the book and yelling, "Amber is the Fool, you fool!" I am convinced. Perhaps the lack of direct confirmation (and therefore, the lack of certainty) is what's best in anything related to the Fool. Such a mysterious figure deserves to keep an air of mystery around them.
The Elderlings! Oh my fucking god. What did Tintaglia mean, saying Malta would be "very pleased" to discover the power of her red scales? That definitely means that the color of your scales is a sign of which power you got from the dragon, but what power is that??? I guess I won't find out until a year or two later. Or maybe even never! But, given how much the Elderlings mean to the series (they are literally in the title, come on), I think we'll encounter the answer to this mystery eventually.
Also, Malta and Reyn. There is something so hilarious about how these two can only think of each other amidst a world-ending crisis. What's even funnier is this happened twice! The first time, it was during the ball, right before Bingtown got attacked. The second time is now, captured on a pirate ship, in the middle of the attack by the Jamaillian force. They are literally getting boarded and all they can think about is how the other will not accept them 'cuz they're ugly now. Ugh, guys! Get your priorities straight! (I say, affectionately, because that was such a nice way to break some of the tension in-between battles) Like, literally, the first thing Malta says to Althea is not "oh my god are you okay??" or "oh my god is Satrap okay???", it's "oh my gosh Reyn thinks I'm pretty!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Malta. For fuck's sake. I love her so much :"DDD
And that final ball in Jamallia feels like everything just came full circle for Malta. She literally fantasized about going to Jamallia (I'm misspelling it, aren't I) at the beginning of the first book. She followed all their trends like the wide-eyed, naive girl she was. And now, she is setting her own fashion trends. Nobles have plucked their eyebrows out to replace them with gemstones to try to mimic even a fraction of her beauty. She has a pretty dress and pretty jewellery, yet she's not as happy as she thought she would be. That's because her rough journey forced her to grow up and she values different things now. But it's all well now because I believe she finally found her destiny. And she seems happy with it. I'm happy for her.
The only thing that would have made this book better is seeing all the Vestrits at one table together. They all grew up so much! There are so many of them I haven't mentioned but I was amazed by everyone's growth. There is something so interesting about Selden's story in particular. In the previous books, I forgot he was even there because Keffria protected him and didn't allow him to go out and find his destiny in the world. In the third book, we see more of him because Keffria is busy with other things, so Selden gets to sneak out from under her wing and explore the world. He really begins to shine in the third book as he's given more freedom. And when things finally come back to normal, Keffria sees that going back to protecting him and sheltering him against the world will do him no good. Keffria lets him go. The entire thing with Selden feels almost like a metaphor; we forget he even exists in the first two books because he's not allowed to go out into the world and find himself, be himself. But once he seizes the chance to flee his mother's watchful eye and we are allowed to see him for who he is, he turns out to be such a resourceful and witty young boy. He'll go far in the world.
Of course, it is also bittersweet. Both of Keffria's children have been claimed by their destiny in the Rain Wilds now, and it is sad to think about their separation. But Keffria herself has changed, too. She is no longer a little girl cowering behind her mother's skirts; she stands tall and proud. She makes her own decisions. People look up to her. And she came to realize she likes this kind of thing. She wanted Kyle to protect her and care for her because she saw how hard her mother had it when their father was gone. But now that she stepped up to Ronica's place, she found that she likes this. She likes being in control of her destiny. I'm happy for her.
There were times when I was impatient with this book. It really started at the halfway mark. I could see how everyone's destinies were meant to converge, yet it was multiple POVs and chapters later that the things talked about would finally start to happen. And that was a neverending cycle for half of the book. It was like watching that overhead shot of all the agents running into the building in Matrix. Yet imagine you saw that shot and were then hit with half-an-hour exposition/backstory/filler stuff before you could finally find out what happened in the building. The challenge with juggling so many POVs was bringing them all together, and it was a slow, arduous task. You really had to be there for the journey, but all I wanted was for the book to get to the point. It could have just been my mood. It also made me wonder how I was able to devour Assassin's Quest without similar problems. But it is what it is. I knocked off half a star just for the fact that this could have been two books, not one, just for the sake of my sanity. But don't get me wrong; it was still a wonderful ending. Once the book did get to the point, it was a wonderful conclusion to the story. I have a feeling I will come back to re-read it many times.
And there are so many other things I liked that I didn't even mention in this review! The destiny of all the dragons. The liveships. Vivacia finding herself. Jek finally getting laid. The themes of destiny and not letting your past define you. So many wonderful things, yet I feel like I am capable of writing only so many words before I want to get done with this review and get to the point.
And the point is this: what a wonderful ending for a wonderful story. 4.5/5 stars, and what a glorious, shining 4.5 that is. More shiny than any other 4.5 I've ever given out, that's for sure.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexism
The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love The Liveship series so much 🥺 Let me crawl into the book and give all of the characters a hug (except those who deserve a kick in the face 👊)
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══
It's weird to start a review by comparing a book to another completely unrelated book, but. This is what I wanted Legends & Lattes to be like.
Now, if you have been living under a rock, Legends & Lattes took the book world by storm by promising us a cozy fantasy story with low stakes. And it did deliver, but the stakes were too low for my liking. I loved it the moment I read it, but I also kind of regretted getting a physical copy. Yet one more book I will never pick up again.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is different because it is cozy sci-fi. And it certainly does not have low stakes. It immediately thrusts you into action by promising a secret -- Rosemary has just been hired by a spaceship crew who tunnel wormholes through space to keep track of their paperwork. Little do they know that she is hiding secrets and running away from a troubled past. But hey, so does the rest of the crew!
The book is very much a collection of episodes on their long journey to a small, angry planet (ha). It is easy to read and it is delightful in its writing style. I highlighted so many quotes, which was an unexpected pleasure after reading another book that had no quote-worthy text. If you want a cozy adventure that is filled with found family moments and interesting stories, pick this up. Even if you aren't normally into sci-fi, give this book a try.
What I loved about this book is how it focused on the positive without turning away from reality. All the characters have been through some shit. Some are still going through some shit. The shit in question can be very Very VERY big, or it can be tiny and mundane. It doesn't make it hurt any less for the characters. But the book focuses on how they overcome and grow around those fractures that have been carved into their very souls. It's a weirdly therapeutic experience.
There is another thing that is grounded in reality here, and that is how, even within a found family, there are always going to be people you don't get along with 100%. The ship has two oddballs, in fact, both secluded for their own reasons. Corbin, an unlikable algae scientist or a "very valuable headache", as Captain Ashby put it; and Ohan, who keeps to himself because of a virus that is slowly eating away at his body and mind. Both have their own stories. Both are still accepted into the ship's family, regardless of how hard it is for them to get along with other members of the crew.
And that sets a very realistic expectation for reality that I love very much! The book teaches you that you can still get along with people even if you disagree on things! Trying to find a friend group where you agree on everything is futile, but that's exactly what the books I read as a kid taught me. But as I grew up, I encountered more and more people who had different opinions and views than I did, and honestly, instead of focusing on our differences, I should have focused on what united us and enjoyed our friendships while they lasted.
Another interesting thing about the book is its world-building. Now, I'm more of a fantasy book reader myself, but something about this book caught my attention and never let go. Maybe I was in the right mood for it. But anyway, the world is populated with so many different alien species, and all of them get along. Well, mostly. There is, of course, always a conflict of interest or some disagreement, but the world is a lot kinder and more understanding than I could have hoped for. It's coming back to the theme of focusing on the positives; you get to read about characters overcoming their differences to be together regardless of what their species is. And it's freaking wonderful okay! It's a wonderful book to read when you are in a reading slump or just want the world to be a little kinder! I rest my case.
I don't know what else to talk about that is non-spoilery, so just for those who read the book and will get this reference, here is a final quote for you:
:))))
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
5.0
"Have you taken any courses in interspatial manipulation? Probably not, huh?"
"Can't say that I have."
"Space-time topology?"
"Nope."
"Transdimensional theory?"
Rosemary made an apologetic face.
"Aww!" said Kizzy, clasping her hands over her heart. "You're a physics virgin!"
═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══
It's weird to start a review by comparing a book to another completely unrelated book, but. This is what I wanted Legends & Lattes to be like.
Now, if you have been living under a rock, Legends & Lattes took the book world by storm by promising us a cozy fantasy story with low stakes. And it did deliver, but the stakes were too low for my liking. I loved it the moment I read it, but I also kind of regretted getting a physical copy. Yet one more book I will never pick up again.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is different because it is cozy sci-fi. And it certainly does not have low stakes. It immediately thrusts you into action by promising a secret -- Rosemary has just been hired by a spaceship crew who tunnel wormholes through space to keep track of their paperwork. Little do they know that she is hiding secrets and running away from a troubled past. But hey, so does the rest of the crew!
"You can talk now, but small movements, please. The fracture hasn't fully healed yet. And your brain still needs some work."
"I could've told you that," Sissix said.
The book is very much a collection of episodes on their long journey to a small, angry planet (ha). It is easy to read and it is delightful in its writing style. I highlighted so many quotes, which was an unexpected pleasure after reading another book that had no quote-worthy text. If you want a cozy adventure that is filled with found family moments and interesting stories, pick this up. Even if you aren't normally into sci-fi, give this book a try.
What I loved about this book is how it focused on the positive without turning away from reality. All the characters have been through some shit. Some are still going through some shit. The shit in question can be very Very VERY big, or it can be tiny and mundane. It doesn't make it hurt any less for the characters. But the book focuses on how they overcome and grow around those fractures that have been carved into their very souls. It's a weirdly therapeutic experience.
"There is peace out here in the open. I have friends and a garden in the stars and a kitchen full of tasty things. I heal people now. I cannot pretend that the war never happened, but I stopped fighting it long ago. I did not start that war. It should never have been mine to fight."
There is another thing that is grounded in reality here, and that is how, even within a found family, there are always going to be people you don't get along with 100%. The ship has two oddballs, in fact, both secluded for their own reasons. Corbin, an unlikable algae scientist or a "very valuable headache", as Captain Ashby put it; and Ohan, who keeps to himself because of a virus that is slowly eating away at his body and mind. Both have their own stories. Both are still accepted into the ship's family, regardless of how hard it is for them to get along with other members of the crew.
And that sets a very realistic expectation for reality that I love very much! The book teaches you that you can still get along with people even if you disagree on things! Trying to find a friend group where you agree on everything is futile, but that's exactly what the books I read as a kid taught me. But as I grew up, I encountered more and more people who had different opinions and views than I did, and honestly, instead of focusing on our differences, I should have focused on what united us and enjoyed our friendships while they lasted.
"They make me feel like... oh, what are those big ugly reptiles you have back on Earth? The extinct ones?"
"Um..." Rosemary racked her brain. "I don't know. Iguanas?"
Another interesting thing about the book is its world-building. Now, I'm more of a fantasy book reader myself, but something about this book caught my attention and never let go. Maybe I was in the right mood for it. But anyway, the world is populated with so many different alien species, and all of them get along. Well, mostly. There is, of course, always a conflict of interest or some disagreement, but the world is a lot kinder and more understanding than I could have hoped for. It's coming back to the theme of focusing on the positives; you get to read about characters overcoming their differences to be together regardless of what their species is. And it's freaking wonderful okay! It's a wonderful book to read when you are in a reading slump or just want the world to be a little kinder! I rest my case.
Without the haze of city lights, shimmering colors shone down unhindered -- the glow of neighboring moons, the murky purple gauze of the galactic cloud, and all in between, nothing but stars, stars, stars. She lived up there, in that vast expanse of color. Every day, she saw planets and comets and stellar nurseries right up close, plain as weather. Yet, there was something about being planetside that made it feel different. Perhaps stars were supposed to be viewed from the ground.
I don't know what else to talk about that is non-spoilery, so just for those who read the book and will get this reference, here is a final quote for you:
Because I've loved you since then.
:))))
The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
I've been trying to (unsuccessfully) gather my thoughts about this for a bit less than a week now, so I'm just going to sit down and write and see what happens.
The book's plot is incredible, and I heard it gets even better. The plot is very intricate, with lots of small details. If you see something that looks like a plot hole or feels weird to you in the book -- that's not a plot hole, that's actually indeed weird and you should keep an eye on it. Not to mention that I spoiled myself for one huge thing in the future books just by googling characters (so, yeah, don't do what I did) BUT THAT SPOILER MAKES ME RECONSIDER THE EPILOGUE OF THE FIRST BOOK and let me tell you, my mind is just blown.
The great thing about the plot was that the author does not try to trick the reader; nope, the author makes it easy for the reader to guess some of the secrets before they are explained in the book. That made me put on my detective hat and pay attention, which is always a great thing. I love that in books, where I get to guess the secrets before they are revealed and feel all smart about it.
A few bad things about the plot that stood out to me are:
1) It starts off very slowly. While I still enjoyed the slow pace of the beginning and middle, the end is where the plot really picked up and got super interesting (and, once again, I heard it gets even better in future books👀). So you need to be in a mood for slow pacing. Buckle up, you are going on a journey.
2) Some revelations are not as logical as they may seem to the characters. The end is especially guilty of that. While it was the most interesting part, it was also the most scrambled one. I did not get what the characters realized in horror before they actually explained it, and even then, sometimes their leaps of logic felt a bit like a stretch.
The personalities of the characters feel 2D. I personally love reading about relationships between characters in books, and in this specific book, they just weren't there. Someone in a different review mentioned how the "romance was uninspired". But forget about romance, even the regular relationships felt uninspired! I did not get why people were friends or enemies with each other. None of what they said or did to each other felt genuine. Even a touching reunion between friends did not feel super genuine; it was more like they were going through the motions and doing things friends are supposed to do with no emotions behind it.
Some main characters had their personalities flipped in the middle of the book, which is fine, honestly, it was a bit of an improvement. But yeah, the character work was pretty mid.
For some, the compelling plot would be enough to keep them going despite this glaring flaw. While I'm firmly in the same camp (I collect interesting plots like stamps because I need inspiration for my own TTRPG games), the lack of believable characterization took a toll. I might need to switch to some character-driven books for the time being to recover before I continue with the series x)
The writing is bland and straightforward. And I wish I meant straightforward in a good way, but no.
Now, to be fair, this is the first book for this author, so he still did a decent job for a first book. But yeah, the writing was nothing special for an epic fantasy book. It did especially take a toll on my favourite part of any book -- the banter between characters. There were some attempts to include some jokes and bring some personality into the dialogue, but it always fell flat for me. This is one of the few books where I did not highlight even a single quote; none of them impressed me enough.
So, overall, what did I think? I enjoyed the plot. I enjoyed putting on a detective hat and hunting for clues. I started actually taking notes of names and places to cross-reference them later. I enjoyed the unexpected time travel aspect and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it, so far it has been done very well (as far as I can tell).
I did not enjoy the writing style. I thought the character work could use some work (ha). But I could see some of these things improving towards the end, so you know what, I'll give this book the benefit of the doubt. I'll probably continue with this series to see how it goes.
Solid 3.5/5 stars.
The book's plot is incredible, and I heard it gets even better. The plot is very intricate, with lots of small details. If you see something that looks like a plot hole or feels weird to you in the book -- that's not a plot hole, that's actually indeed weird and you should keep an eye on it. Not to mention that I spoiled myself for one huge thing in the future books just by googling characters (so, yeah, don't do what I did) BUT THAT SPOILER MAKES ME RECONSIDER THE EPILOGUE OF THE FIRST BOOK and let me tell you, my mind is just blown.
The great thing about the plot was that the author does not try to trick the reader; nope, the author makes it easy for the reader to guess some of the secrets before they are explained in the book. That made me put on my detective hat and pay attention, which is always a great thing. I love that in books, where I get to guess the secrets before they are revealed and feel all smart about it.
A few bad things about the plot that stood out to me are:
1) It starts off very slowly. While I still enjoyed the slow pace of the beginning and middle, the end is where the plot really picked up and got super interesting (and, once again, I heard it gets even better in future books👀). So you need to be in a mood for slow pacing. Buckle up, you are going on a journey.
2) Some revelations are not as logical as they may seem to the characters. The end is especially guilty of that. While it was the most interesting part, it was also the most scrambled one. I did not get what the characters realized in horror before they actually explained it, and even then, sometimes their leaps of logic felt a bit like a stretch.
The personalities of the characters feel 2D. I personally love reading about relationships between characters in books, and in this specific book, they just weren't there. Someone in a different review mentioned how the "romance was uninspired". But forget about romance, even the regular relationships felt uninspired! I did not get why people were friends or enemies with each other. None of what they said or did to each other felt genuine. Even a touching reunion between friends did not feel super genuine; it was more like they were going through the motions and doing things friends are supposed to do with no emotions behind it.
Some main characters had their personalities flipped in the middle of the book, which is fine, honestly, it was a bit of an improvement. But yeah, the character work was pretty mid.
For some, the compelling plot would be enough to keep them going despite this glaring flaw. While I'm firmly in the same camp (I collect interesting plots like stamps because I need inspiration for my own TTRPG games), the lack of believable characterization took a toll. I might need to switch to some character-driven books for the time being to recover before I continue with the series x)
The writing is bland and straightforward. And I wish I meant straightforward in a good way, but no.
Now, to be fair, this is the first book for this author, so he still did a decent job for a first book. But yeah, the writing was nothing special for an epic fantasy book. It did especially take a toll on my favourite part of any book -- the banter between characters. There were some attempts to include some jokes and bring some personality into the dialogue, but it always fell flat for me. This is one of the few books where I did not highlight even a single quote; none of them impressed me enough.
So, overall, what did I think? I enjoyed the plot. I enjoyed putting on a detective hat and hunting for clues. I started actually taking notes of names and places to cross-reference them later. I enjoyed the unexpected time travel aspect and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it, so far it has been done very well (as far as I can tell).
I did not enjoy the writing style. I thought the character work could use some work (ha). But I could see some of these things improving towards the end, so you know what, I'll give this book the benefit of the doubt. I'll probably continue with this series to see how it goes.
Solid 3.5/5 stars.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
It's an interesting story that you can get through in ~4 hours. Trying to piece together the situation from Piranesi's incomplete memory was a fun task. For such a magical setting (a house with an ocean inside it! Neverending staircases! Mysterious statues!), the prose did not quite reflect the magic of the place; I've read stories that did a better job of immersing yourself in the world with prose alone, hence the lower rating.
But overall this was a fun puzzle to unravel, and a great buddy read because there is a lot you can talk about for this book. Recommend.
But overall this was a fun puzzle to unravel, and a great buddy read because there is a lot you can talk about for this book. Recommend.