Michael
Fallen star is a great conclusion to the first phase of the High Republic that mostly sticks the landing (pun intended). It’s a powder keg of dramatic irony as well all know how it will end and we’re forced to just sit and watch the disaster unfold.
No one feels safe at any point, characters are getting death flags left, right, and centre and not just the ones who do die so none are too predictable by the end and the characters that do die are all done effectively and really gives it this larger than life feeling. I do have some issues with how the fall of Starlight has been handled in books/comics after this but none of that is the fault of Fallen Star.
The fact that pretty much the entire book takes place in this one location with very little happening outside the station gives the book great flow and a focused sense of direction that results in time flying by when reading.
Even with all the disaster and tension, Fallen Star does still manage to make room for levity at times though. New jedi, Regald Coll was a great introduction who’s attitude had me laughing quite a bit and of course the return of the Vessel crew, especially Geode, continue to be expertly written by Claudia Gray to deliver the funniest, most brilliant character in all of Star Wars. I will genuinely never tire of Geode based humour i think.
Fallen star is a great conclusion to the first phase of the High Republic that mostly sticks the landing (pun intended). It’s a powder keg of dramatic irony as well all know how it will end and we’re forced to just sit and watch the disaster unfold.
No one feels safe at any point, characters are getting death flags left, right, and centre and not just the ones who do die so none are too predictable by the end and the characters that do die are all done effectively and really gives it this larger than life feeling. I do have some issues with how the fall of Starlight has been handled in books/comics after this but none of that is the fault of Fallen Star.
The fact that pretty much the entire book takes place in this one location with very little happening outside the station gives the book great flow and a focused sense of direction that results in time flying by when reading.
Even with all the disaster and tension, Fallen Star does still manage to make room for levity at times though. New jedi, Regald Coll was a great introduction who’s attitude had me laughing quite a bit and of course the return of the Vessel crew, especially Geode, continue to be expertly written by Claudia Gray to deliver the funniest, most brilliant character in all of Star Wars. I will genuinely never tire of Geode based humour i think.
Added to list2024 Readswith 5 books.
Added to listOwnedwith 28 books.
Go Together was a fun opening story. Joss and Pikka, while not having much page time, still appear quite consistently through phase one so it’s nice to get to see more of their relationship. Getting more perspective on the battle of Kur is great as well as one of my favourite space battles.
First Duty was a bit tougher to get invested in, due to all the new characters but ended up being a fun little whodunnit mystery that also looked at the political consequences of having so many opposing cultures on board Starlight which was interesting.
Hidden Danger was fairly weak. Sticking with Velko now and Avon popping up was cool but that's about it, and she didn't really do anything either. Pretty forgettable plant based story.
Past Mistakes was fun. Part 1 felt like a classic Hondo moment with the knock off merch being sold and part 2, although a lot more serious, was enjoyable with a decent enough twist that left it compelling.
Shadows Within was a sombre way to end the short stories. Good bit of dramatic irony that we know about the Ghirrah twist but also that noone else can know at this point setting up for just a sad end for Tarpfen.
Go Together was a fun opening story. Joss and Pikka, while not having much page time, still appear quite consistently through phase one so it’s nice to get to see more of their relationship. Getting more perspective on the battle of Kur is great as well as one of my favourite space battles.
First Duty was a bit tougher to get invested in, due to all the new characters but ended up being a fun little whodunnit mystery that also looked at the political consequences of having so many opposing cultures on board Starlight which was interesting.
Hidden Danger was fairly weak. Sticking with Velko now and Avon popping up was cool but that's about it, and she didn't really do anything either. Pretty forgettable plant based story.
Past Mistakes was fun. Part 1 felt like a classic Hondo moment with the knock off merch being sold and part 2, although a lot more serious, was enjoyable with a decent enough twist that left it compelling.
Shadows Within was a sombre way to end the short stories. Good bit of dramatic irony that we know about the Ghirrah twist but also that noone else can know at this point setting up for just a sad end for Tarpfen.
Added to listOwnedwith 27 books.
Island of Blue Dolphins was a short, fun time. While it starts off pretty serious with the instigating series of events, the majority of the read ends up being a pretty cosy, chill island survival.
It was just pretty pleasant to watch Karana’s transformation over the decades she was left behind from just “a village girl” to someone who’s mastered the elements and tamed most wildlife on the island.
The bonds Karana has with the wildlife especially was one of the highlights, Rontu and her together were super wholesome and connected with me in the most emotional moments.
The writing itself stays pretty basic throughout which makes sense as it IS at the end of the day a kids novel which does limit how much you can feel invested in the story being told but I did enjoy my time reading it by the end.
Caught me off guard at the end when i found out it was based on a true story though, Made me rethink how impressive the whole thing was.
Island of Blue Dolphins was a short, fun time. While it starts off pretty serious with the instigating series of events, the majority of the read ends up being a pretty cosy, chill island survival.
It was just pretty pleasant to watch Karana’s transformation over the decades she was left behind from just “a village girl” to someone who’s mastered the elements and tamed most wildlife on the island.
The bonds Karana has with the wildlife especially was one of the highlights, Rontu and her together were super wholesome and connected with me in the most emotional moments.
The writing itself stays pretty basic throughout which makes sense as it IS at the end of the day a kids novel which does limit how much you can feel invested in the story being told but I did enjoy my time reading it by the end.
Caught me off guard at the end when i found out it was based on a true story though, Made me rethink how impressive the whole thing was.
Added to list2024 Readswith 4 books.
I give this a five out of ten with the MOST enthusiasm possible. At times I really enjoyed Le Morte d’Arthur, the whimsical, straight forward nature of the group of knights is endearing in all the best ways as they bumble around for hundreds of pages on end, but I couldn’t say I would recommend someone read it either.
First thing you’ll have to get used to is the way its written, it’s very “old time english” and at first is very difficult to get into. Once you do, I think the flow of it can be charming but it is a barrier to entry. Secondly at times it can drag A LOT. There is a whole midsection of the book (books 8-10) which are much longer then any other section and are also just filled with endless nothingness that made me put the whole book on hold for half a year.
There’s also what feels like a lot of repetition in events throughout, almost every book contains multiple joust tourneys where inevitably Lancelot will disguise himself as someone so he can fight against the round table.(happens so often, Gawaine calls it out in book 19). The most egregious moment is when Malory writes out the names of 86 knights back to back that show up to help someone. It goes on and on.
Probably best to stick to an abridged version. There's a lot to enjoy here to me but A LOT to sludge through as well
I give this a five out of ten with the MOST enthusiasm possible. At times I really enjoyed Le Morte d’Arthur, the whimsical, straight forward nature of the group of knights is endearing in all the best ways as they bumble around for hundreds of pages on end, but I couldn’t say I would recommend someone read it either.
First thing you’ll have to get used to is the way its written, it’s very “old time english” and at first is very difficult to get into. Once you do, I think the flow of it can be charming but it is a barrier to entry. Secondly at times it can drag A LOT. There is a whole midsection of the book (books 8-10) which are much longer then any other section and are also just filled with endless nothingness that made me put the whole book on hold for half a year.
There’s also what feels like a lot of repetition in events throughout, almost every book contains multiple joust tourneys where inevitably Lancelot will disguise himself as someone so he can fight against the round table.(happens so often, Gawaine calls it out in book 19). The most egregious moment is when Malory writes out the names of 86 knights back to back that show up to help someone. It goes on and on.
Probably best to stick to an abridged version. There's a lot to enjoy here to me but A LOT to sludge through as well
Added to list2024 Readswith 3 books.
A terrible idea executed brilliantly has to be better than a brilliant idea executed terribly. I mean, look at pelicans!
Tress of the Emerald Sea was my first taste of a Brandon Sanderson book and what is apparently the Cosmere Universe(?) and I have to say I am very happy with this as an entry point. Im already a sucker for pirates, One Piece is my favourite story of all time, and the absolute coziness I felt reading this was great!
Tress and the crew that we follow here are all great. Tress herself is an optimistic and naive joy to follow early who slowly grows into a more capable leader to this ragtag bunch. For the crew itself, Fort is an easy standout with how much I loved the guy and his big brother energy as he supports Tress through his trades.
The world that's built up here I found really interesting with how much was done with a simple "what if ocean but spore" idea. The different colours of ocean and spore were fun to learn about and there interactions with water made for fun ideas like not being able to cry tears of joy on deck for fear of growing the spores, just a bunch of fun little ideas.
I was instantly sold on the relationship between Tress and Charlie at the beginning so was a bit sad to see them separated for so much of the book but what we did get was still good. Hoid i’m split on though, I enjoyed him as a tongue-in-cheek narrator but any time he was in the story I was just annoyed at him and his humour fell flat for me.
A terrible idea executed brilliantly has to be better than a brilliant idea executed terribly. I mean, look at pelicans!
Tress of the Emerald Sea was my first taste of a Brandon Sanderson book and what is apparently the Cosmere Universe(?) and I have to say I am very happy with this as an entry point. Im already a sucker for pirates, One Piece is my favourite story of all time, and the absolute coziness I felt reading this was great!
Tress and the crew that we follow here are all great. Tress herself is an optimistic and naive joy to follow early who slowly grows into a more capable leader to this ragtag bunch. For the crew itself, Fort is an easy standout with how much I loved the guy and his big brother energy as he supports Tress through his trades.
The world that's built up here I found really interesting with how much was done with a simple "what if ocean but spore" idea. The different colours of ocean and spore were fun to learn about and there interactions with water made for fun ideas like not being able to cry tears of joy on deck for fear of growing the spores, just a bunch of fun little ideas.
I was instantly sold on the relationship between Tress and Charlie at the beginning so was a bit sad to see them separated for so much of the book but what we did get was still good. Hoid i’m split on though, I enjoyed him as a tongue-in-cheek narrator but any time he was in the story I was just annoyed at him and his humour fell flat for me.
Added to list2024 Readswith 2 books.
Murasaki’s diary is an interesting read, it gives a glimpse into a time we rarely learn about with direct recollection. There was a good amount I found interesting about the life of people like her and Murasaki’s feelings being injected onto these situations made the whole thing feel more real than simply reading an article on it.
I do feel like a lot of the enjoyment I got from the book however was from the first 20-30 pages that were a more general look into life at that time and the family trees and history of Japan as a whole before the diary actually began.
That's not to say the diary itself is without merit though as there were definitely parts I enjoyed that were only possible from her perspective. One that sticks out is when Murasaki sends off a poem passage as a message to Lady Koshosho and by the time she receives a reply, she can’t remember what was originally sent so replies in a vague manner. Little moments like that really help the era being written about feel lived in.
It’s unfortunate then, that this may only be a smaller part of a larger diary and we don’t know for sure how much of it is lost today because as is, it kind of just ends, as well as the fact that a lot of the actual poetry isnt included due to language barriers and poetry being especially hard to translate across.
Murasaki’s diary is an interesting read, it gives a glimpse into a time we rarely learn about with direct recollection. There was a good amount I found interesting about the life of people like her and Murasaki’s feelings being injected onto these situations made the whole thing feel more real than simply reading an article on it.
I do feel like a lot of the enjoyment I got from the book however was from the first 20-30 pages that were a more general look into life at that time and the family trees and history of Japan as a whole before the diary actually began.
That's not to say the diary itself is without merit though as there were definitely parts I enjoyed that were only possible from her perspective. One that sticks out is when Murasaki sends off a poem passage as a message to Lady Koshosho and by the time she receives a reply, she can’t remember what was originally sent so replies in a vague manner. Little moments like that really help the era being written about feel lived in.
It’s unfortunate then, that this may only be a smaller part of a larger diary and we don’t know for sure how much of it is lost today because as is, it kind of just ends, as well as the fact that a lot of the actual poetry isnt included due to language barriers and poetry being especially hard to translate across.