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A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I would give this 3.5 stars, which is lower than I expected I would rate it, but still a very enjoyable experience.
This book is the first in the Lady Trent series, being a fictional set of memoirs by Isabella Camherst, lady naturalist in a fantasy Victorian age.
I initially thought this book was going to be historical fantasy in the Temeraire/A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians way, but it's actually set in an entirely different fantasy world that's just to the left of the real world. High-class British Edwardian/Victorian social mores are preserved almost entirely, the countries are vaguely recognizable as "fantasy England," "fantasy Russia," etc., but somehow everyone is fantasy Jewish, and also there are entirely different fantasy days of the week! Definitely an intriguing worldbuilding setup.
Book one takes us from Isabella's childhood through her first scientific expedition as a young woman. It's written in the voice of her elderly self, reminiscing and occasionally offering opinions on her own actions with the benefit of hindsight. For some reason, I found her narrative voice to be mildly grating at times.
The story kept my attention the whole time, but at no point was I really truly hooked by any of the characters or gripped with suspense. I also was surprised thather husband died in the FIRST book! It may be a case of "dead parents by necessity," since his continual presence might have proved a stumbling block to her attaining the eventual independence she desires, but I had still hoped we might get a couple books in before he died. I'm not sure if I will pick up the rest of the series, but I'm glad I read this one.
This book is the first in the Lady Trent series, being a fictional set of memoirs by Isabella Camherst, lady naturalist in a fantasy Victorian age.
I initially thought this book was going to be historical fantasy in the Temeraire/A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians way, but it's actually set in an entirely different fantasy world that's just to the left of the real world. High-class British Edwardian/Victorian social mores are preserved almost entirely, the countries are vaguely recognizable as "fantasy England," "fantasy Russia," etc., but somehow everyone is fantasy Jewish, and also there are entirely different fantasy days of the week! Definitely an intriguing worldbuilding setup.
Book one takes us from Isabella's childhood through her first scientific expedition as a young woman. It's written in the voice of her elderly self, reminiscing and occasionally offering opinions on her own actions with the benefit of hindsight. For some reason, I found her narrative voice to be mildly grating at times.
The story kept my attention the whole time, but at no point was I really truly hooked by any of the characters or gripped with suspense. I also was surprised that
Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
WE ARE SO BACK BAYBEEEEE
After having a mostly "meh" reaction to the other four secret projects, and feeling as horrifically mixed as I have ever felt about a book toward Wind and Truth, I have to admit I was worried. It had begun to occur to me that perhaps I don't even like Sanderson anymore. Perhaps I never did? Are all my glorious memories of reading Mistborn for the first time false, distorted out of their true shape by nostalgia?
Well, this existential crisis has been put on hold for the foreseeable future.
Isles of the Emberdark is a follow-up to the Sixth of the Dusk novella. The novella itself is inserted into this book as flashbacks, which was helpful, honestly, as it has been years since I read it.
Dusk and his people are still grappling with the predatory encroachment of the Scadrians on their younger civilization. They are in a precarious position, with precious few opportunities left to defend themselves from a much more powerful force. As a hail Mary last ditch effort, Dusk (with his magic parrots) sets off into the emberdark on a solitary journey to look for something that might help them stave off the colonization of their people.
We also get to meet Starling, a young dragon, and her spaceship crew of misfits. There's a lot going on here, and it all comes together in interesting and unexpected ways.
I really enjoyed both Dusk and Starling's separate perspectives, and constantly just wanted to keep flipping pages. This is a VERY Cosmere-y Cosmere book. Perhaps the most Cosmere-y book yet. I learned a ton of lore, and there were so many things we've seen tiny hints of that finally got pulled together here. This is certainly the most up close and personal we've been with dragons yet, Tress notwithstanding.
The end was very "the power of friendship, the power of stories." Classic, really. Honestly, I VERY much enjoyed this, and I'm extremely excited to have had as much fun as I did. Can't wait to have the book itself in my hands!
After having a mostly "meh" reaction to the other four secret projects, and feeling as horrifically mixed as I have ever felt about a book toward Wind and Truth, I have to admit I was worried. It had begun to occur to me that perhaps I don't even like Sanderson anymore. Perhaps I never did? Are all my glorious memories of reading Mistborn for the first time false, distorted out of their true shape by nostalgia?
Well, this existential crisis has been put on hold for the foreseeable future.
Isles of the Emberdark is a follow-up to the Sixth of the Dusk novella. The novella itself is inserted into this book as flashbacks, which was helpful, honestly, as it has been years since I read it.
Dusk and his people are still grappling with the predatory encroachment of the Scadrians on their younger civilization. They are in a precarious position, with precious few opportunities left to defend themselves from a much more powerful force. As a hail Mary last ditch effort, Dusk (with his magic parrots) sets off into the emberdark on a solitary journey to look for something that might help them stave off the colonization of their people.
We also get to meet Starling, a young dragon, and her spaceship crew of misfits. There's a lot going on here, and it all comes together in interesting and unexpected ways.
I really enjoyed both Dusk and Starling's separate perspectives, and constantly just wanted to keep flipping pages. This is a VERY Cosmere-y Cosmere book. Perhaps the most Cosmere-y book yet. I learned a ton of lore, and there were so many things we've seen tiny hints of that finally got pulled together here. This is certainly the most up close and personal we've been with dragons yet, Tress notwithstanding.
The end was very "the power of friendship, the power of stories." Classic, really. Honestly, I VERY much enjoyed this, and I'm extremely excited to have had as much fun as I did. Can't wait to have the book itself in my hands!
The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H.G. Parry
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
See, when H. G. Parry writes books, they mean something.
This is a "fictional characters come to life" story and, if I had known that, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. Almost every "fictional characters come to life" story I've ever read has been disappointing in one way or another: shallow, annoying, trite, incoherent worldbuilding, failure to commit to the bit, etc. This book, on the other hand, is what all books about fictional characters coming to life SHOULD be.
AND it's about siblings.
Rob, our everyman narrator, is the long-suffering older brother of Charley Sutherland, an eccentric boy genius literary professor. In addition to being a wunderkind, Charley also has the mysterious power of "summoning" literary characters out of their books and into the real world.
These two have a twisted-up sibling dynamic that is both uncomfortable and VERY important for both of them, and lies at the very heart of the story. Rob loves Charley, resents him for always being smarter and more special, resents the role of "protective older brother" he feels was thrust upon him, yet also needs that role and would never give it up. Charley feels like a burden, like he has never fit in and always been a problem for others to solve.
What does this have to do with fictional characters coming to life? Everything, pal.
Charley, sometimes, has brought characters to life on accident. This is a normal, usual sort of problem for him and Rob to have. What's not normal is when other characters start showing up in the city, ones Charley knows HE didn't bring to life, betraying the existence of another summoner. Who is this person? And what is the mysterious "new world" they are working toward?
The plot follows Charley and Rob untangling the puzzle of the sinister second summoner at the same time as they are being forced to untangle family secrets and the unspoken tensions in their relationship. Their parents are also important characters, which I love because it's so rare to have parents that actually show up in a real way in a story.
The fictional characters I didn't care nearly as much about, but they were endearing and did show more depth than most fictional characters in books with this premise.
The twist near the end didn't surprise me too much, but I had been well prepared by the Raven Cycle and the Dreamer Trilogy. I am usually someone who doesn't figure anything out myself in books, because I'm reading so fast I trip over the reveal before I've even thought about the mystery. But I did figure this one out on my own FOR ONCE, so I'm a little proud of myself!
When I thought that the end was really going to have Charley sacrifice himself, I was ticked OFF. But then I loved how it actually did end. Rob's "I am the captain now" moment was wonderful. Even though their relationship throughout the book was full of friction and made me wince multiple times, it was also full of compelling heart, and I loved the catharsis of the book's conclusion.
This is a "fictional characters come to life" story and, if I had known that, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. Almost every "fictional characters come to life" story I've ever read has been disappointing in one way or another: shallow, annoying, trite, incoherent worldbuilding, failure to commit to the bit, etc. This book, on the other hand, is what all books about fictional characters coming to life SHOULD be.
AND it's about siblings.
Rob, our everyman narrator, is the long-suffering older brother of Charley Sutherland, an eccentric boy genius literary professor. In addition to being a wunderkind, Charley also has the mysterious power of "summoning" literary characters out of their books and into the real world.
These two have a twisted-up sibling dynamic that is both uncomfortable and VERY important for both of them, and lies at the very heart of the story. Rob loves Charley, resents him for always being smarter and more special, resents the role of "protective older brother" he feels was thrust upon him, yet also needs that role and would never give it up. Charley feels like a burden, like he has never fit in and always been a problem for others to solve.
What does this have to do with fictional characters coming to life? Everything, pal.
Charley, sometimes, has brought characters to life on accident. This is a normal, usual sort of problem for him and Rob to have. What's not normal is when other characters start showing up in the city, ones Charley knows HE didn't bring to life, betraying the existence of another summoner. Who is this person? And what is the mysterious "new world" they are working toward?
The plot follows Charley and Rob untangling the puzzle of the sinister second summoner at the same time as they are being forced to untangle family secrets and the unspoken tensions in their relationship. Their parents are also important characters, which I love because it's so rare to have parents that actually show up in a real way in a story.
The fictional characters I didn't care nearly as much about, but they were endearing and did show more depth than most fictional characters in books with this premise.
The twist near the end didn't surprise me too much, but I had been well prepared by the Raven Cycle and the Dreamer Trilogy. I am usually someone who doesn't figure anything out myself in books, because I'm reading so fast I trip over the reveal before I've even thought about the mystery. But I did figure this one out on my own FOR ONCE, so I'm a little proud of myself!
When I thought that the end was really going to have Charley sacrifice himself, I was ticked OFF. But then I loved how it actually did end. Rob's "I am the captain now" moment was wonderful. Even though their relationship throughout the book was full of friction and made me wince multiple times, it was also full of compelling heart, and I loved the catharsis of the book's conclusion.
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was my first Abercrombie after years of avoiding him. And it was good as hell.
Half a King is a Ben Hur revenge story, but make it Vikings.
Our main character is Yarvi, a young prince of Gettland who has always been the black sheep of his family due to a crippled hand. He is more comfortable with study and thought than the physical deeds of prowess his culture demands, and intends to become a Minister (something like a priest/scholar). All these plans are torn from him when his father and brother are killed, and suddenly he finds himself as the new King of Gettland.
However, Yarvi is betrayed almost immediately. After barely surviving an attempt on his life, Yarvi is captured and sold into slavery. What follows is his fight for survival, and for vengeance on the people who killed his father and betrayed him.
Overall, the story is pretty harsh. Terrible circumstances, violence, the depredations of slavery, gray-moral characters that can do both good or bad things at the flip of a coin. However, I found it gripping and still very enjoyable. Yarvi is sniveling and self-pitying at the beginning and clearly has no particular ambition to be a good person at the end, but I rooted for him the whole time and liked his band of friends. I liked the surprise reveal at the end a LOT, although I'm not sure how it's going to turn out for Gettland in the long run.
I had avoided Abercrombie until now because I am not a grimdark person and had heard so much about his worlds where there's no such thing as right and wrong and every character is a bad person. Thus, I was a bit surprised that, to me, this seems to fall well within the standard deviation of regular fantasy genre tone. This series is considered YA, so I wonder if this is more tame than Abercrombie's adult fantasy books. I'm interested to find out.
Half a King is a Ben Hur revenge story, but make it Vikings.
Our main character is Yarvi, a young prince of Gettland who has always been the black sheep of his family due to a crippled hand. He is more comfortable with study and thought than the physical deeds of prowess his culture demands, and intends to become a Minister (something like a priest/scholar). All these plans are torn from him when his father and brother are killed, and suddenly he finds himself as the new King of Gettland.
However, Yarvi is betrayed almost immediately. After barely surviving an attempt on his life, Yarvi is captured and sold into slavery. What follows is his fight for survival, and for vengeance on the people who killed his father and betrayed him.
Overall, the story is pretty harsh. Terrible circumstances, violence, the depredations of slavery, gray-moral characters that can do both good or bad things at the flip of a coin. However, I found it gripping and still very enjoyable. Yarvi is sniveling and self-pitying at the beginning and clearly has no particular ambition to be a good person at the end, but I rooted for him the whole time and liked his band of friends. I liked the surprise reveal at the end a LOT, although I'm not sure how it's going to turn out for Gettland in the long run.
I had avoided Abercrombie until now because I am not a grimdark person and had heard so much about his worlds where there's no such thing as right and wrong and every character is a bad person. Thus, I was a bit surprised that, to me, this seems to fall well within the standard deviation of regular fantasy genre tone. This series is considered YA, so I wonder if this is more tame than Abercrombie's adult fantasy books. I'm interested to find out.
The Summer War by Naomi Novik
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This fairy-tale novella follows three siblings: Celia (sorceress), Roric (unwanted, forgotten), and Argent (skilled knight and also gay).
This is a fairy story in that a novella's shorter length necessitates quick, fairy-tale storytelling, but also in that it deals with the fae. Celia's home, Prosper, borders the Summer Lands, a magical place inhabited by the fae, who had been fighting an eternal war of vengeance against her people until her father's cleverness ended it. However, the war may not stay in the past forever.
This was very cute in the harsh, raw Naomi Novik style. I am THEEE sucker for sibling dynamics, and I loved all of them here. And I loved how Celia is indeed her father's daughter.
This is a fairy story in that a novella's shorter length necessitates quick, fairy-tale storytelling, but also in that it deals with the fae. Celia's home, Prosper, borders the Summer Lands, a magical place inhabited by the fae, who had been fighting an eternal war of vengeance against her people until her father's cleverness ended it. However, the war may not stay in the past forever.
This was very cute in the harsh, raw Naomi Novik style. I am THEEE sucker for sibling dynamics, and I loved all of them here. And I loved how Celia is indeed her father's daughter.
The Curious Case of the Woman in White: An Ada Baker Mystery by Karen Hamilton-Viall
• Heidi almost made me laugh. She is so one-dimensional and dumb, and the 1v1 kung fu duel between her and Ada was so dumb.
• It seemed a little too convenient that the victim was Ada's friend's cousin, and the murderer was someone they both knew. How small is this town?
• All my homies hate Marcus. I didn't like him in the first book, and he SHOULD NOT have come back. Get this man out of my face.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, The Curious Life of Ada Baker, and described it as a paranormal, cozy version of "Criminal Minds."
Ada Baker is a psychic medium, who lives with three friendly ghosts. In collaboration with her (alive) friend, Inspector David Matlock, she uses her unique skills to solve murders nobody else can solve. The first book veered between the creepy, supernatural "Criminal Minds" world of sexual abuse and murder, and Ada's homey life punctuated by numerous cozy conversations with friendly ghosts and cups of tea. It was a little tonally dissonant, but it worked well and I had a great time.
This book continues the story, following Ada, David, and the new ghostly constabulary as another paranormal murder crops up. This book's mystery is three-pronged: a Woman in White killing young men, the murderer of the young woman whose ghost became the Woman in White, and the murder of Inspector Jolly. (There's also the return of a familiar antagonist from Ada's past, as a random aside.)
While the series is still building on the same enjoyable foundation, this installment didn't hit as well as the previous one:
Ada Baker is a psychic medium, who lives with three friendly ghosts. In collaboration with her (alive) friend, Inspector David Matlock, she uses her unique skills to solve murders nobody else can solve. The first book veered between the creepy, supernatural "Criminal Minds" world of sexual abuse and murder, and Ada's homey life punctuated by numerous cozy conversations with friendly ghosts and cups of tea. It was a little tonally dissonant, but it worked well and I had a great time.
This book continues the story, following Ada, David, and the new ghostly constabulary as another paranormal murder crops up. This book's mystery is three-pronged: a Woman in White killing young men, the murderer of the young woman whose ghost became the Woman in White, and the murder of Inspector Jolly. (There's also the return of a familiar antagonist from Ada's past, as a random aside.)
While the series is still building on the same enjoyable foundation, this installment didn't hit as well as the previous one:
• David and Ada's "will-they-won't-they" is annoying. Honestly, I could have exercised forbearance to allow them to figure themselves out in this book, except for the way it ended.
• This book seemed to shoot past "cozy" and land on "dull and repetitive." There were so many moments of going home, drinking tea and alcohol, and having conversations ('Oh my' 'Indeed' 'How did you learn that?' 'Goodness') lacking in any and all emotional thrust, that the tension from the mysteries just died. I didn't really feel an urge to keep reading. Even Ada's getting kidnapped and threatened multiple times didn't seem to hook me emotionally.
• Heidi almost made me laugh. She is so one-dimensional and dumb, and the 1v1 kung fu duel between her and Ada was so dumb.
• It seemed a little too convenient that the victim was Ada's friend's cousin, and the murderer was someone they both knew. How small is this town?
• All my homies hate Marcus. I didn't like him in the first book, and he SHOULD NOT have come back. Get this man out of my face.
Dark Disciple by Christie Golden
Like, not guilty = execution, but definitely guilty = unconditional forgiveness? I'm so confused. I can't think of any way to explain this except irrationality induced by the aforementioned carbon monoxide poisoning.
OKAY. Now. You may think I have done a lot of complaining so far, and I have. However, I still gave this book three stars. Why? Several reasons.
• The first approximately 35% of the book (The Charming Adventures of Quinlan and Ventress) was the CUTEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. I would have watched the hell out of that TCW episode. Quinlan was so sweet and I love "hardened, jaded character reluctantly comes to care for someone else" stories. It was great.
• Ventress' character in general. She has always been interesting, and the amount (less than I would have liked) that we got to inhabit her perspective in this story was compelling. Her "it's the Jedi way" last words to Quinlan were SO GOOD. Her death was kinda stupid, but I'm not mad about it because Tales of the Underworld just came out.
• Ventress and Obi-Wan. Despite still being sort of enemies, they conspire with each other all. the. time. 'Call Obi-Wan' is one of Ventress' top 5 Hail Mary options, and seemingly vice versa. The RESPECT when he defends her in front of the Council and explicitly credits her for walking away from the Dark Side. *clenches fist* I love it.
• Obi-Wan and Anakin. This was blatant pandering to me specifically, and it was successful. Anakin being at every Council meeting for no reason except that Obi-Wan always invites him. Obi-Wan ALWAYS requesting Anakin as his partner on missions, to the point that Quinlan points it out. The stupid remote-control droid shenanigans. Anakin basically being a highly useful wrecking ball to point at things that need to be destroyed, while Obi-Wan and Ventress do the more fiddly work in the background.
That's pretty much it. This book had a lot of good, fun ingredients, but the overall coherency of a four-year-old's Bible class prayer request.
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book takes place in a world where there was some kind of gas leak at the Jedi Temple, and every character is suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Unfortunate, but it's the only reasonable explanation for what's going on here.
TL;DR summary: Quinlan Vos goes undercover and teams up with Ventress to assassinate Dooku. They fall in love, Quinlan drinks too much Dark Side juice, and chaos ensues.
You've got:
Quinlan: This guy is the SWEETEST knucklehead. We start the book inhabiting his POV alternating with Ventress', and it's very enjoyable. After the Dark Side juice episode, we don't see any more of Quinlan's inner world for necessary suspense reasons, which for me really took the emotional impact out of everything that happened later. He becomes a black box, just an outline of a guy doing very confusing things for unknown reasons. To be honest, this story tried its level best to stomp out all my affection for Quinlan. Nevertheless, I will persist.
Ventress: One of only TWO characters in this book not suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. (You'll never believe who the second one is.) By the end of the book she was the only character I was still happy to see onscreen.
Obi-Wan: Obi-Wan is definitely the 3rd most prominent character in this whole book, which I support. He gets a lot of good lines and solid speeches to the Council, has some fun shenanigan moments with Anakin, and is overall a strong and sympathetic presence in the story. It is, however, very definitely the TCW episode version of Obi-Wan. Distant. Sanitized. Always well-meaning.
Mace Windu: For some reason, Mace Windu woke up and chose violence. He is convinced in this book that the only way to solve problems is to immediately kill the people causing those problems. I do think that Mace Windu should be allowed to kill people, as a treat, but I wish this made more sense in the narrative.
Yoda: Yoda is here to shake his head sadly, act like he's on the fence between two opposing Council viewpoints, and then side with Mace Windu's murder agenda every time. But like, in a wise and considerate way. The only exception to this is when he uses the Force to scry Quinlan's soul.
Anakin: That's right, ANAKIN SKYWALKER is somehow one of only 2 characters in this book that are not acting too stupid to live. That should tell you to what depths we have fallen. Like Obi-Wan, he has several fun moments. Also like Obi-Wan, he is definitely the TCW episode version of himself. Competent. Put together. Obnoxious in a cute way.
Some deep concerns:
1) When the Council said 'assassinate Dooku,' for some reason Quinlan heard 'challenge Dooku to a lightsaber fight and win and then kill him.' With love and light, that is not what an assassination is. This entire dumb sequence of events could have been avoided if Mr. Maverick-Underworld-Operator-Unconventional-Solutions had stopped to consider that there might be one (1) other way of assassinating someone besides popping up behind them and yelling, 'En garde!'
In addition, as a mission, 'defeat Dooku in a lightsaber battle with the intent of killing him' contains zero percent of the concerning moral compromise that the book tries SO hard to convince you the Jedi are making. Literally any Jedi could have done that while fully in tune with the Jedi Code. It takes a lot of the power out of the entire book, reducing it to annoying, cliche 'I can't kill my enemy because then I will become like them!!!' prevaricating rather than a truly tense moral dilemma.
2) When Ventress told Quinlan he would need to learn to use the Dark Side to defeat Dooku, why the HELL did he just take that on faith? (I know the answer is that love goggles made him dumb. But STILL.) As we are constantly reminded throughout the book, Quinlan is not just a Jedi he is a Jedi Master, and his whole career has been in shady dealings. You're telling me that his existence has been so simple, his life thus far SO INNOCENT, that he's never had to grapple with his own understanding of himself, his choices, and the Dark Side? This is wildly, insanely out of step with his Legends backstory and just so weak. Ventress says 'you gotta go Dark Side, there's no other way' and he's just like 'I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU SAY.' Girl, please.
3) The wild back-and-forth surrounding Quinlan's alleged redemption/non-redemption. Some of this seesaw ride happens internally to Quinlan. There wasn't actually any suspense, because you already know Quinlan isn't being truthful. It also makes no sense.
To be fair, there is some leeway on Quinlan making no sense, because that's the nature of the Dark Side. How was Quinlan's Fall precipitated by fury against Ventress for killing Tholme, and then somehow maintained by his love for Ventress? Why would he think that snitching to Dooku and secretly sabotaging the Republic war effort was going to make him and Ventress safer when they ran away to start a life together? Why would he think that he had to kill Dooku and Sidious to somehow make that possible? They could have left at any time and faded into peaceful obscurity together.
This nonsense can be forgiven. The Dark Side makes you crazy.
What I don't forgive is the stupid 'he was lying to himself about being Fallen and that's why no one except Yoda could sense it' explanation. Every Dark Sider except Sidious is lying to themselves about being Fallen to some extent lol. That's part of the package.
I also don't forgive him 'snapping back to the Light' in the instant of Ventress's sacrifice. He's been so incredibly (and WEIRDLY) resistant to confronting his own Fall to the point of KILLING HIS BEST FRIEND, and then somehow losing the woman he loves brings him back to clarity in a single moment? All things are possible with God, but I don't find it believable that great loss and sorrow, which is commonly known to push people TOWARD the Dark Side (Ventress, Anakin, Qui-Gon, literally name anyone) would suddenly result in Quinlan, who is currently guzzling the Dark Side, realizing his folly. Not without at least some build-up.
4) The OTHER and arguably worse part of this seesaw ride happens with the Jedi Council. And they're not just a little back-and-forth on the issue of Quinlan's redemption. They are WAY back and WAY forth.
Average week on the Jedi Council according to this book:
Unfortunate, but it's the only reasonable explanation for what's going on here.
TL;DR summary: Quinlan Vos goes undercover and teams up with Ventress to assassinate Dooku. They fall in love, Quinlan drinks too much Dark Side juice, and chaos ensues.
You've got:
Quinlan: This guy is the SWEETEST knucklehead. We start the book inhabiting his POV alternating with Ventress', and it's very enjoyable. After the Dark Side juice episode, we don't see any more of Quinlan's inner world for necessary suspense reasons, which for me really took the emotional impact out of everything that happened later. He becomes a black box, just an outline of a guy doing very confusing things for unknown reasons. To be honest, this story tried its level best to stomp out all my affection for Quinlan. Nevertheless, I will persist.
Ventress: One of only TWO characters in this book not suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. (You'll never believe who the second one is.) By the end of the book she was the only character I was still happy to see onscreen.
Obi-Wan: Obi-Wan is definitely the 3rd most prominent character in this whole book, which I support. He gets a lot of good lines and solid speeches to the Council, has some fun shenanigan moments with Anakin, and is overall a strong and sympathetic presence in the story. It is, however, very definitely the TCW episode version of Obi-Wan. Distant. Sanitized. Always well-meaning.
Mace Windu: For some reason, Mace Windu woke up and chose violence. He is convinced in this book that the only way to solve problems is to immediately kill the people causing those problems. I do think that Mace Windu should be allowed to kill people, as a treat, but I wish this made more sense in the narrative.
Yoda: Yoda is here to shake his head sadly, act like he's on the fence between two opposing Council viewpoints, and then side with Mace Windu's murder agenda every time. But like, in a wise and considerate way. The only exception to this is when he uses the Force to scry Quinlan's soul.
Anakin: That's right, ANAKIN SKYWALKER is somehow one of only 2 characters in this book that are not acting too stupid to live. That should tell you to what depths we have fallen. Like Obi-Wan, he has several fun moments. Also like Obi-Wan, he is definitely the TCW episode version of himself. Competent. Put together. Obnoxious in a cute way.
Some deep concerns:
1) When the Council said 'assassinate Dooku,' for some reason Quinlan heard 'challenge Dooku to a lightsaber fight and win and then kill him.' With love and light, that is not what an assassination is. This entire dumb sequence of events could have been avoided if Mr. Maverick-Underworld-Operator-Unconventional-Solutions had stopped to consider that there might be one (1) other way of assassinating someone besides popping up behind them and yelling, 'En garde!'
In addition, as a mission, 'defeat Dooku in a lightsaber battle with the intent of killing him' contains zero percent of the concerning moral compromise that the book tries SO hard to convince you the Jedi are making. Literally any Jedi could have done that while fully in tune with the Jedi Code. It takes a lot of the power out of the entire book, reducing it to annoying, cliche 'I can't kill my enemy because then I will become like them!!!' prevaricating rather than a truly tense moral dilemma.
2) When Ventress told Quinlan he would need to learn to use the Dark Side to defeat Dooku, why the HELL did he just take that on faith? (I know the answer is that love goggles made him dumb. But STILL.) As we are constantly reminded throughout the book, Quinlan is not just a Jedi he is a Jedi Master, and his whole career has been in shady dealings. You're telling me that his existence has been so simple, his life thus far SO INNOCENT, that he's never had to grapple with his own understanding of himself, his choices, and the Dark Side? This is wildly, insanely out of step with his Legends backstory and just so weak. Ventress says 'you gotta go Dark Side, there's no other way' and he's just like 'I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU SAY.' Girl, please.
3) The wild back-and-forth surrounding Quinlan's alleged redemption/non-redemption. Some of this seesaw ride happens internally to Quinlan. There wasn't actually any suspense, because you already know Quinlan isn't being truthful. It also makes no sense.
To be fair, there is some leeway on Quinlan making no sense, because that's the nature of the Dark Side. How was Quinlan's Fall precipitated by fury against Ventress for killing Tholme, and then somehow maintained by his love for Ventress? Why would he think that snitching to Dooku and secretly sabotaging the Republic war effort was going to make him and Ventress safer when they ran away to start a life together? Why would he think that he had to kill Dooku and Sidious to somehow make that possible? They could have left at any time and faded into peaceful obscurity together.
This nonsense can be forgiven. The Dark Side makes you crazy.
What I don't forgive is the stupid 'he was lying to himself about being Fallen and that's why no one except Yoda could sense it' explanation. Every Dark Sider except Sidious is lying to themselves about being Fallen to some extent lol. That's part of the package.
I also don't forgive him 'snapping back to the Light' in the instant of Ventress's sacrifice. He's been so incredibly (and WEIRDLY) resistant to confronting his own Fall to the point of KILLING HIS BEST FRIEND, and then somehow losing the woman he loves brings him back to clarity in a single moment? All things are possible with God, but I don't find it believable that great loss and sorrow, which is commonly known to push people TOWARD the Dark Side (Ventress, Anakin, Qui-Gon, literally name anyone) would suddenly result in Quinlan, who is currently guzzling the Dark Side, realizing his folly. Not without at least some build-up.
4) The OTHER and arguably worse part of this seesaw ride happens with the Jedi Council. And they're not just a little back-and-forth on the issue of Quinlan's redemption. They are WAY back and WAY forth.
Average week on the Jedi Council according to this book:
• Need an assassin to kill Dooku, enlist Quinlan.
• There's some lingering suspicion Quinlan has turned to the Dark Side. He's done nothing wrong except for some as-yet-unproven actions, but. We have to execute Quinlan.
• We can't tell if Quinlan is Dark Side or not. Solution: send him to kill Dooku again. We know this is what caused his alleged Fall in the first place, but there is absolutely no way this can go wrong.
• Quinlan is Dark Side and has murdered 2 Jedi and dozens of clones. Execute him and Dooku and Ventress, even though we pardoned Ventress and she's done nothing wrong since then.
• Quinlan has returned from the Dark Side. He's still demonstrably guilty of murdering 2 Jedi and dozens of clones, but we will rehabilitate him with zero punishment and send him back to the front lines.
Like, not guilty = execution, but definitely guilty = unconditional forgiveness? I'm so confused. I can't think of any way to explain this except irrationality induced by the aforementioned carbon monoxide poisoning.
OKAY. Now. You may think I have done a lot of complaining so far, and I have. However, I still gave this book three stars. Why? Several reasons.
• The first approximately 35% of the book (The Charming Adventures of Quinlan and Ventress) was the CUTEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. I would have watched the hell out of that TCW episode. Quinlan was so sweet and I love "hardened, jaded character reluctantly comes to care for someone else" stories. It was great.
• Ventress' character in general. She has always been interesting, and the amount (less than I would have liked) that we got to inhabit her perspective in this story was compelling. Her "it's the Jedi way" last words to Quinlan were SO GOOD. Her death was kinda stupid, but I'm not mad about it because Tales of the Underworld just came out.
• Ventress and Obi-Wan. Despite still being sort of enemies, they conspire with each other all. the. time. 'Call Obi-Wan' is one of Ventress' top 5 Hail Mary options, and seemingly vice versa. The RESPECT when he defends her in front of the Council and explicitly credits her for walking away from the Dark Side. *clenches fist* I love it.
• Obi-Wan and Anakin. This was blatant pandering to me specifically, and it was successful. Anakin being at every Council meeting for no reason except that Obi-Wan always invites him. Obi-Wan ALWAYS requesting Anakin as his partner on missions, to the point that Quinlan points it out. The stupid remote-control droid shenanigans. Anakin basically being a highly useful wrecking ball to point at things that need to be destroyed, while Obi-Wan and Ventress do the more fiddly work in the background.
That's pretty much it. This book had a lot of good, fun ingredients, but the overall coherency of a four-year-old's Bible class prayer request.
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
FINALLY finished this after three months.
It's not a particularly onerous or boring book, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to read. It also did not fill me with particular admiration for Thomas Jefferson.
I picked this up because I have always been perplexed and fascinated by the dual-faced nature of Jefferson. His writing, as inscribed on our history and on the marble walls of his monument in DC, almost reaches past time and culture to aspirational human truths. However, the life of the man himself is full of flaws and contradictions. How can the same man who wrote these things about freedom and justice have acted this way toward his slaves?
The book claims to not be an exhaustive chronicle of Jefferson's life, but instead an exploration into his character as shown during significant portions of his life. It's broken down by time period (pre-Revolution years, France years, Secretary of State years, Presidential years, etc.) and my question was addressed directly in the text. In fact, it was addressed almost constantly, and the answer was "yeah, Jefferson was just Like That."
The author deliberately avoids using the word "hypocrite" EVER, and it must have taken a lot of work. He essentially claims that Jefferson had great powers of denial and selective belief, and was able to be completely sincere in the expression of multiple contradictory viewpoints.
He waxed poetic about the joys and power of family relationships, but was distant from his daughters as they were growing up. He was single-mindedly obsessed with balancing the national budget during his presidential terms, but died with his own personal estate buried under crushing debt. He had an uncompromising vision of personal freedom and small government, but when confronted with any concrete, detailed questions about how to make a governmental concept work in an imperfect world, had few actual answers.
He wrote the incredibly blunt "I tremble for my country" passage, but perpetuated the crime of slavery in several different ways himself.
It's interesting and informative, but hardly satisfying. I found it almost shocking how the ideological fight the Democratic Republicans and Federalists were having is EXACTLY the same fight we are having today, and seemingly have never once stopped having for a single second since the USA was founded. Depressing? Encouraging? Depends on how you look at it, I guess.
This book's major weakness is that it was written RIGHT before the Hemings/Jefferson descendant DNA testing that conclusively proved that Sally Hemings' children were fathered by a male of the Jefferson line. Therefore, it treats the Hemings/Jefferson issue as a question of scholarly debate that may never be answered, and barely touches on it at all in the main text of the book.
In a forward and an afterword the author addresses it, claiming there is scholarly consensus that Jefferson was not having an affair with Hemings and did not father her children. This was true at the time, I'm sure, but the author's claim in the afterword that Jefferson couldn't have done so because his character made it impossible is almost cute in its naivete. I did find this interview done with the author post-DNA testing, where he reverses his opinion and reflects on how this changes his interpretation of Jefferson's character, which I thought was worth a read.
Overall, this certainly gave me the insight I was looking for.
It's not a particularly onerous or boring book, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to read. It also did not fill me with particular admiration for Thomas Jefferson.
I picked this up because I have always been perplexed and fascinated by the dual-faced nature of Jefferson. His writing, as inscribed on our history and on the marble walls of his monument in DC, almost reaches past time and culture to aspirational human truths. However, the life of the man himself is full of flaws and contradictions. How can the same man who wrote these things about freedom and justice have acted this way toward his slaves?
The book claims to not be an exhaustive chronicle of Jefferson's life, but instead an exploration into his character as shown during significant portions of his life. It's broken down by time period (pre-Revolution years, France years, Secretary of State years, Presidential years, etc.) and my question was addressed directly in the text. In fact, it was addressed almost constantly, and the answer was "yeah, Jefferson was just Like That."
The author deliberately avoids using the word "hypocrite" EVER, and it must have taken a lot of work. He essentially claims that Jefferson had great powers of denial and selective belief, and was able to be completely sincere in the expression of multiple contradictory viewpoints.
He waxed poetic about the joys and power of family relationships, but was distant from his daughters as they were growing up. He was single-mindedly obsessed with balancing the national budget during his presidential terms, but died with his own personal estate buried under crushing debt. He had an uncompromising vision of personal freedom and small government, but when confronted with any concrete, detailed questions about how to make a governmental concept work in an imperfect world, had few actual answers.
He wrote the incredibly blunt "I tremble for my country" passage, but perpetuated the crime of slavery in several different ways himself.
It's interesting and informative, but hardly satisfying. I found it almost shocking how the ideological fight the Democratic Republicans and Federalists were having is EXACTLY the same fight we are having today, and seemingly have never once stopped having for a single second since the USA was founded. Depressing? Encouraging? Depends on how you look at it, I guess.
This book's major weakness is that it was written RIGHT before the Hemings/Jefferson descendant DNA testing that conclusively proved that Sally Hemings' children were fathered by a male of the Jefferson line. Therefore, it treats the Hemings/Jefferson issue as a question of scholarly debate that may never be answered, and barely touches on it at all in the main text of the book.
In a forward and an afterword the author addresses it, claiming there is scholarly consensus that Jefferson was not having an affair with Hemings and did not father her children. This was true at the time, I'm sure, but the author's claim in the afterword that Jefferson couldn't have done so because his character made it impossible is almost cute in its naivete. I did find this interview done with the author post-DNA testing, where he reverses his opinion and reflects on how this changes his interpretation of Jefferson's character, which I thought was worth a read.
Overall, this certainly gave me the insight I was looking for.
The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? Yes
3.5
This book is the third (and last?) in the "Celehar, clinically depressed priest of the god of death, goes about his daily life" series.
In the previous installment, he lost his calling through a traumatizing battle with an undead creature and can no longer speak for the dead. Who is he, without this mission guiding his life? We don't really know, and we don't have to find out because he gets it back pretty quickly.
The highlights of this book were 1) the world and its deep detail, which I continue to be enthralled by, and 2) WE GET TO SEE MAIA AGAIN. My best boy! He is doing so well! I'm so proud of him! It's just two short scenes, but I still rejoice.
I also really enjoyed the mini quests, especially the scouring of the badly mismanaged cemetery. That was so random, and it's part of the reason I liked it so much. The rest of the plot seems to tie a lot of Celehar's previous cases all together, and sees him leaving Amalo in bittersweet but ultimately hopeful circumstances.
In the previous installment, he lost his calling through a traumatizing battle with an undead creature and can no longer speak for the dead. Who is he, without this mission guiding his life? We don't really know, and we don't have to find out because he gets it back pretty quickly.
The highlights of this book were 1) the world and its deep detail, which I continue to be enthralled by, and 2) WE GET TO SEE MAIA AGAIN. My best boy! He is doing so well! I'm so proud of him! It's just two short scenes, but I still rejoice.
I also really enjoyed the mini quests, especially the scouring of the badly mismanaged cemetery. That was so random, and it's part of the reason I liked it so much. The rest of the plot seems to tie a lot of Celehar's previous cases all together, and sees him leaving Amalo in bittersweet but ultimately hopeful circumstances.
Redshirts by John Scalzi
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
As of now, I am 3 books, 1 novella, and 3 short stories into John Scalzi's impressively large bibliography.
I am noticing some common threads.
Pros:
• Intriguing, unique sci-fi premise
• Easy, effortless, quick read
• Lighthearted
• Keeps your attention, rarely boring
Cons:
• Not one of these 7 works of fiction have provoked a single genuine emotion out of me
• All the characters share the same wisecracking/bodily function sense of humor, and it's not nearly as funny as Scalzi thinks it is
• Zero depth or investment in the characters beyond the obligatory teehee jokes and as-needed to serve the plot
This book specifically is a satire in which lowly crewmen on a starship realize that they tend to die in statistically unlikely, sometimes ridiculous ways, while the important officers on the ship always survive, even when it should be impossible. Can they find a way to escape the ignominious death they are doomed to experience as one of the "redshirts" on the ship, or is their fate set in stone?
It was fine. It exactly conformed to the above bullet points, and therefore I have rated it the flattest possible 3 stars.
The only part of the book that really struck me was when the main character figuratively stared into the camera and implied the existence of the book itself. And I guess the codas, which irritated me. There is no way any of those people would take the "explanation" of what happened that well, with that much credulity.
I am noticing some common threads.
Pros:
• Intriguing, unique sci-fi premise
• Easy, effortless, quick read
• Lighthearted
• Keeps your attention, rarely boring
Cons:
• Not one of these 7 works of fiction have provoked a single genuine emotion out of me
• All the characters share the same wisecracking/bodily function sense of humor, and it's not nearly as funny as Scalzi thinks it is
• Zero depth or investment in the characters beyond the obligatory teehee jokes and as-needed to serve the plot
This book specifically is a satire in which lowly crewmen on a starship realize that they tend to die in statistically unlikely, sometimes ridiculous ways, while the important officers on the ship always survive, even when it should be impossible. Can they find a way to escape the ignominious death they are doomed to experience as one of the "redshirts" on the ship, or is their fate set in stone?
It was fine. It exactly conformed to the above bullet points, and therefore I have rated it the flattest possible 3 stars.
The only part of the book that really struck me was when the main character figuratively stared into the camera and implied the existence of the book itself. And I guess the codas, which irritated me. There is no way any of those people would take the "explanation" of what happened that well, with that much credulity.