Kyle Erickson

This book has no identity.

Percy ranting about brunch, pontificating about old age, cringing at Fergalicious, trying to go to college but still acting like a 12 year old...

Riordan clearly wanted to return to Percy but seemed unclear on who he actually is. Half the asides do not feel like something a person his age at his time would act like (speaking of: they mention Wandavision, so this is set in recent times, but Percy was 16 when the series ended in 2009? Hmm).

It feels like Riordan tried to age this series up with the fans but couldn't do it entirely because so much time has passed, so he had to stay in the YA lane, but didn't want to lose the middle grade charm, but wanted to appeal to the humor sensibilities of the people who grew up with the series (rants about boomers, anyone?) and so the result just feels tonally strange and overall very haphazard.

I will say, though - it made me laugh more than any of the others. So...mission accomplished, kinda sorta?

Preface: I will never review a book with this particular circumstance ever again. I will not be brief. Without a doubt, I am biased with this book. What circumstance, you ask? Well, Baptiste Pinson Wu happened to write a novel set during the Three Kingdoms era, following minor character Liao Hua as he retroactively narrates his life story, starting with his illustrious boyhood as a Yellow Turban as the beginning of a ten book series...which sounds pretty similar to what I've been working on for years, which is a TK ten book series following Liao Hua as he retroactively narrates his life story, starting with his illustrious boyhood...

Okay, you see why I am biased. To be clear, I'm biased positively -though it needs not be said, this is obviously just coincidence, if a shocking one. Honestly, I'm just happy someone else decided to finish all the dang research and actually get the book done. I wanted to write it myself because I was confident in how good of an idea it was - Three Kingdoms is one of the coolest eras of history, relatively unknown to western audiences, with a text format nonexistent except for the original dry Romance of the Three Kingdoms (which I unabashedly love, but is not very accessible to the average audience), Liao Hua is the perfect main character - rogue backstory, survives to the very end of the Three Kingdoms era, is a devout follower of the most famous figure of this era, and his youth is vague enough that you can do almost anything with him - he's the Forest Gump of third century China.

So I was absolutely beside myself when I learned about Yellow Sky Revolt, and preordered it instantly. I heard that Wu was inspired by the Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell and modelled Liao Hua after Uhtred (son of Uhtred), which, to make coincidences even grander, is the exact character I was also basing my Liao Hua on. Get out of my brain, Baptiste! (Okay, one final coincidence- I swear most of the book is different from mine, but we both also have extremely minor character Cheng Yuanzhi play a father figure to young Liao Hua. Okay, “Baptiste is a dirty rotten mind thief” section of this review is over). All is to say, this book was working at a five star, absolute banger level from page one. There was almost no way I wasn't going to at least really like it. It feels like it was written for me. However, it is a debut novel and it definitely has some things it could improve. So I will try to be balanced: There are things that totally worked for me that I can see not working for someone else, but on the flip side, I've spent so long thinking about this book (and beyond that: this era, which I have been enamored with for 23 years) that there are things I think may be the less interesting way to go, but that's only due to my closeness to the material.

Regardless, the highlight is this - This book is good, and it deserves more attention. The research is extremely well done, and it felt very much like Three Kingdoms Era China to me, which is the highest compliment I can give it.

So, YSR starts with a frame narrative - think of a mixture between Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles, in which the main character Derfal is telling his life journey to someone who wants to know “the real story” (in this case, it's Chen Shou - the man we have to thank that we largely know any of this), combined with Uhtred's sense of worldweariness and snark that the world he was fighting for has been lost and he's the last one left that remembers it (okay so this is Derfal too, but trust me, Liao feels more like Uhtred). Liao Hua thinks way back to 184 AD, when he was 7 years old and the Yellow Turban Rebellion began, which was the spark that would lead to a hundred years of civil war.

Here is the first thing that I'm unsure where my feelings truly lie - it's just barely possible for Liao Hua to have been in his early teens during this time, which would give him the ability to make more active choices during these formative years. As it stands, the entire novel takes place when Hua is very young, and because of that, it's a LOT of older characters telling him what's happening, telling him where to go, telling him what to do, telling him what's going to happen...there's a lot of telling. For what it's worth, knowing the history and where this book ends, I think he will be much more active in upcoming books. But it could definitely hamper someone's reading experience, depending on the person (but I shall point out that the excellent Assassin's Apprentice has Fitz as a six year old for most of it, so anything is possible). Hua, named Dun at this point in his life, lives in a small village near Wan as his “Uncle Cheng” (CHENG YUANZHI GET HYPED Y'ALL HE APPEARS ON ONE PAGE OF ROTK BUT HIS NAME IS COOL OKAY) begins to get him interested in The Way, which is a rebellious sect led by Zhang Jue.

One thing Wu excels at is the little stuff. The way the common folk view these big events or interact with the government, the way poverty impacts a community, religious faith, and interactions with the officials all felt like I was reading ROTK but more casual-like. He's also really good at character voice - I had a consistent view of Hua throughout, both as the narrator and as child Dun. I think the prose does veer a bit into phrasing that feels too modern sometimes though, particularly with insults. I can't recall the exact words, but there were several turns of phrases while insulting someone where the language used was jarring. But overall, the prose is straightforward and flows well, and for a debut novel, I was impressed.

This book is separated into two halves. The first half deals with Hua on the march with the Yellow Turbans, and the second half shifts almost completely, and I won't spoil the situation exactly, but its a bold strategy that is used to bring in several important TK characters as youths, before they go on to influence events. I had mixed feelings on this choice. On the one hand, I loved all the cameos and one in particular is going to have such a great payoff in like, book 8 or something. I also think having Forest Gump-I mean Liao Hua- meet all these important people early will make for a better story later on. On the other hand, it felt like the balance here was a little tilted in favor of people who were already familiar with TK. This section is littered with cameos that are almost intended to be like, “hey, remember Xu Chu? HE'S FAT” and I don't know how well this works as the second half of a debut novel, because the book has no real climax.

In fact, Wu had a clear destination in mind to end the book with, and there was a lot of relevant stuff happening far away from Hua before that could happen, so the end of this book has several pages of “and then this guy we've never met before did this thing to this other guy we've never met, which resulted in this third guy doing a thing...” and I don't know the right solve for this, except to somehow make Hua more directly involved or find out on a slower time frame, so I get that there's a lot of info-dumping that needs to happen. But it felt clunky. And I admit I have no understanding of how a newbie to TK would react to all the names in this book. Like, I don't think Lu Zhi, Zhu Jun, and Huangfu Song needed to be named at all. I think all three are cool, and I loved hearing about them, even for a moment. But they are name-dropped and then dismissed, never to return (most likely). I'm sure Wu is putting them in to be as accurate as possible and to please fans, but the analytical side of me wonders what the balance is between only introducing characters who have a narrative purpose and doing winks to a (probably large) chunk of your audience. He does try to signpost when a character will be important later, but I think this could be handled a bit smoother. Or, hell, maybe Lu Zhi is Wu's favorite TK character and he was determined to fit him in somewhere, and I absolutely understand that.

One last negative I have to mention is the lack of female characters. There are maybe four female named characters in this book, and three of them are very one-note, and the last one is slightly less one-note. This is a hard problem, but not an insurmountable one. I spent a lot of time myself figuring out how to integrate female characters into the narrative more prominently, and I hope Wu does too. Hua has plenty of time to meet compelling ladies. This didn't affect my reading experience at all, but I do know it would affect others', so I have to mention it.

This might be the longest review I've ever done, and I could definitely keep going, talking about each aspect of this book. I'm just so excited it exists, and so happy to have read it. This first book mostly steers clear of the really big Three Kingdoms figures- besides a couple. Cao Cao is around in all his glory, as are the three brothers and Sun Jian. I really like how Wu is able to spin certain characters from their ‘normal' depictions. Xiahou Dun in particular. I'm very hyped to continue to read and praise this series as Wu releases each of the following novels. However if Yu Jin and Zhang Liao don't get large roles, I'm going to get upset.

To finish up, an awesome debut historical fiction set in an era you should absolutely know more about, so buy this book and then read it and then say, “wow, Three Kingdoms is cool” to which I will say, “you're damn right it is.”

9/10

DNF 40% in

Really found the main character to be stupid and insufferable. And 40% in and he has just been eaten by the whale. But also it took forever for him to be eaten. I bet 7% of this book is just him being like:

“Oh n-n-n-noooooo! A whale! Whoooooooooa I'm gonna be eaten if I don't do something!! I must do something! This reminds me of something my father once said. Wh-wh-whoa, I'm eaten!”

This was a very good follow up! I liked it more than book one, the magic and lore kicked it up a notch, the villain was more interesting and engaging, and I actually rooted for Gormflaith this time! (I mean, I did last time too, but against my will).

My cons for this series remain the same, however. Several first person POVs is just hard for me, and I still don't think the two main POVs sound different enough from each other, which can make it hard for me to ground myself. This was much better in this one, though, due to being more familiar with their various supporting cast. And I still find Fodla to be very passive. She spends most of this novel having others once again make decisions for her...I suppose that makes it better when she actually DOES make decisions, but following such a passive character can be frustrating for me.

DNF @ 50%

This was so boring

So boring

So

This book was fine but I'm pretty confused why I have only heard praise about it. I didn't feel really anything about it the entire time except for the first 70-80 pages being very compelling. After that, there is a giant section of the book that is very different and people stop acting like people, and then the last chunk is okay. Won't be continuing this series, but nothing about it was actively not good.

I enjoyed this book, but I did end up wanting a bit more from it. The worldbuilding was really cool and the set up of the story reminded me of a more fantastical Pirates of the Carribean (the second lead is basically Norrington, and the first lead is that mermaid played by Kaya Scodelario in the fourth one). The story is about Mary Firth, a stormsinger -someone who can control storms- is taken captive by a fearsome pirate and then released by Samuel, and the two try to A) defeat the pirate and B) maybe find Mary's mother, a famous stormsinger.

I thought the characters were decent but could have used some more fleshing out, but one thing I consistently liked about this book is the same thing I liked about Long's previous books: the atmosphere. I always felt like I was in the midst of a sea faring, swashbuckling adventure. Long has descriptive prose without overweighing the scene. She knows how to make her sentences economical.

I'll read book two but probably not at release.

7/10

Read this book 8 times, did it remain my favorite book?

Yes

DNF @ 45%

A jumbled, sterile mess. It was told in a very convoluted way but didn't earn it's convolution; I couldn't be bothered to care about anything going on or when in the timeline we were or why any things were happening. All the characters were boring and the demons were sometimes different names depending on who they were inside...just dial it down, Martha.

This book started great. I read the first 40% in one sitting. The sense of mystery was really intriguing as set up.

But once we get to the main plot...I just found the joke to be played out. This book ends up being a big nothing burger. There are some bits I liked the whole way through - like the dolphins, which are a delight. But I absolutely, completely, hated the last 15-20% and it retroactively made me dislike a lot of the rest of it too. Not a great first try for Scalzi.

This was an enjoyable read, but I think fairy tale retellings are not really my thing. Probably my least favorite Kingfisher I've read, but I can't pinpoint why. The characters were fine, the writing was good. I just never really connected with it.

7/10

I enjoyed this book, but wanted more. I had barely heard of Atalanta before and that was a chief motivator to read it. And I did find out more about her, and I liked how the author explored the role of women in antiquity and the reactions of the various men to Atalanta joining the Argonauts and her journey to be accepted by them and prove herself, as well as dealing with the prejudice of the wider world. All that was good. I also really liked the narrator, and the prose. It flowed really well.

I'd just say that outside of Atalanta, every character was bland. If I didnt already know about Jason and Hercules and Peleus, I'd barely be able to differentiate them. Because of that, the plot and character interactions just didn't do much for me.

DNF @37%

Excellent, terrifying, well written, thought provoking, emotional. One of the best horror novels I've read.

7/10

This book has a great opening, and a pretty good ending. I liked the characters, and it was a nuanced and imaginative take on the Water Margin. I do feel it was way too long, it definitely could have been cut down in some places. The fights were entertaining, but I found some of the dialogue very stilted.

Ultimately, glad I read this book as its an interesting experiment, but it wasn't a favorite.

“By all the gods that ever walked, I swear that you are the finest men I ever knew. And if I could have chosen the end of this tale, and peopled it with heroes of the past, I would not change a single thing. For no one could have given more than you have. And I thank you.”

This is the biggest surprise of the year for me. I expected to like this book. I LOVED this book. The fact that it was Gemmell's first book, and with the knowledge that the siege is meant to represent Gemmell and the invading horde his cancer, just made the book so much more poignant. Helm's Deep and the battle of blackwater being two of my favorite battles ever makes me think retroactively I should have prioritized this book way sooner.

Gemmell is very good at making simple lines of dialogue or simple sentiments come across very sincerely. There were many moments in this book where I was close to tears or I was fist-pumping because of how something was phrased. His prose is simple while being wholly immersive and effective. He was really excellent at this in the Troy trilogy too; I sense a new favorite author on the horizon.

He is also great at character. This book is peppered with a lot of “warrior dude who thinks honor is most important” and yet they all feel realistic and despite the overwhelming odds against the main characters, I felt every death. I think Gemmell makes little narrative choices that are irregular but kept me on my toes where I felt like the story would be predictable but he changes the formula just enough to leave me impressed. A quick example of this is a POV shift in the middle of a skirmish where we start following a random enemy soldier. You think you know where that's going to go but then it does something different. Or a POV cut to a random soldier's wife. In general, the omniscient narration was well done here and used to great effect.

“When I die, he thought, everyone will mourn for Druss the Legend. But who will mourn for me?”

And of course, the legend himself!!! It is really hard to write “legendary” characters. In general, the exploits people talk up about them are going to be more impressive than actually writing the character being an active participant. But Druss is an all-timer. Every line of dialogue, every action he takes, every moment where he thinks of his illustrious past is just incredible. I would be a little bitch in a siege, but I would stand a lot taller if Druss was there with me.


My one negative for this book would be some super quick insta-love at the beginning, but I did end up liking how the relationship was depicted. I just wish it developed at a more realistic pace.


“I have four armies like this - can I be stopped?”
“Stopping you is not important,” said the Earl. “It never was.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“We are trying to stop you.”

10/10, on the strength of this and the Troy trilogy, I think I will read all of Gemmell's work.

DNF 50%

This book is not really enlightening, its just exhausting. I've seen a lot of people say this book made them think about a lot of things but I guess I have already thought about those things because nothing in this book so far felt to me like worthwhile of being a book and not an essay, and I furthermore don't know why this author should be the one I'm listening to. It's mostly just, “oh yeah, a lot of people loved Harry Potter/David Bowie/Bill Cosby, and they shouldn't have to feel bad for that, but sometimes they do anyways” over and over again.

For like 70% of this book, I didn't understand what people were seeing in it. It was good. The writing was excellent, there was a lot of intrigue, but it just wasn't clicking. I thought I was going to go the unpopular route and say this was my least favorite Lawrence book I had read.

But it's my favorite Mark Lawrence book.

The last 30% of this book really ties everything together and is just absolutely exceptional. I honestly already want to reread it.

Easily my favorite of this trilogy.

Okay, so I did not realize this was a romance book when I requested it on Netgalley. The blurb seemed interesting and I suspected there would be some romance, just based on the age and description of the character, but the rest sounded interesting enough to overlook it. And that's mostly what happened, because this is a good book. But it's also a romance book, and what I didn't know about romance books, because I don't read them, is that they're just cringey as hell (to me).

And so while there are aspects of this book that are excellent, I can't give it a full rating, because dammit, I detested the romance in this book. I'm not even talking about the sex scenes. There are only a couple. I just think saying things like “you have extremely touchable skin” is stupid in any context. If that works for someone else, power to them. But it was lines like that I couldn't deal with.

Anyways, on to the positives. First of all, Violet is a great main character. I rooted for her the entire time and her initial belief that she was too broken to be a dragon rider, and her gradual understanding that she was not defined by her illness and that she could be a dragon rider, was very well done. I liked most of the side characters, and her relationships with them. I also realized during this book that I expected her older, accomplished sister to inherently be a bitch to her because that's how these tropes tend to go, and so I appreciated that the bond with her sister was strong and that she was supportive. I liked the depiction of her overbearing best friend/potential love interest not understanding how coddling Violet was not helpful to her, and some of the best scenes were her standing up for herself to him.

I also really liked the dragons, which were probably my favorite part. Everything involving the dragons in this book was very fun, and some of the political and war machinations going on in the background of the book were very interesting, and make me wonder how much of this outside conflict that Yarros is planning to incorporate. The magic being tied to the dragons and manifesting unique powers was fun. In general, the plot of this book was very propulsive and I always wanted to know what happened next.


Which, not to harp on it, is why the romance overpowering the narrative at the 3/4s mark was just insufferable to me. I know I'm not the target audience. I know a lot of people will love this part. I don't dislike romance for the sake of it existing. But I think if it didn't suddenly take over every thought Violet has in any situation and she wasn't super horny every minute, I could have probably tolerated a slow-burn romance here. Alas. Take all this with a huge grain of salt.

Anyway, the book was very fun. I think it deserves the hype. I probably won't read the sequel, but hey, I survived a fantasy romance book! Am I on the road to becoming a Maas stan?

8/10

This book is a very good comprehensive guide to the modern psych field. Basically all major schools of psychology are explained in a competent and easy to digest manner and are applied in a way that the average person can get some use out of them. It also makes sure to explain where the field is more locked in and where certain theories are hotly contested, and Bloom does a great job adding his own voice without being biased from the overall goal.

The only time I think Bloom gets too in the weeds is during how children learn languages, which he randomly just devotes a chunk of the book to very specific information about language learning. Regardless, my go to recommendation for people to learn some shit about psychology and stop annoying me with all the dumb stuff they don't know about

This was a decent introduction to this series, but I do think it would have been better after reading A touch of Light. As it is, the majority of this prequel novella focuses on a battle and I am just less interested in combat for combat's sake. But I'm looking at this as an investment to get more context into A Touch of Light when I read it!

Really enjoyed this book, a ragtag group of soldiers storming France during the start of the hundred years war. The main group reminded me of the First Law Northmen and I enjoyed their dynamic. The action scenes were great; particularly the opening scene which is clearly inspired by the opening of Saving Private Ryan; and the final battle which was really exciting.

I do think that the book needed more. It felt bare bones in terms of character, plot, and descriptions. Lovejoy and a couple others of the Dogs were more well defined, but with their being 10 Essex Dogs, some of them are just...there. And the rest of the English army are all pretty bland. I will definitely read the sequel though!

You know when you meet a stupid person? We've all met a stupid person. And sometimes, you don't know they're stupid right away. You give them the benefit of the doubt, because hey, assuming someone is stupid is rude. And occasionally, you'll be talking to this theoretical stupid person, and you'll be explaining something to them - physics, politics, math, where Denmark is- and you see in their eyes that they aren't home. As you were speaking, their chief brain cell let the other two brain cells take the rest of the day off and you are witnessing the mass exodus of every potentiality for them to have a thought, and it's just you explaining how probabilities work to an empty shell of a turtle who has moved on to a different, dumber shell. And what else can you do, but finish telling them what you were telling them, despite knowing that they are clinically dead, you might as well be speaking these words to an empty balloon, at least that way, you might get half a balloon.

That was me reading this. I am the stupid person. My brain doesn't work this way at all. I didn't get a single thing from this. Every line, I was just “

This memoir is strange in that it is pretty brief on all things about Felton's life, but it will be unexpectedly poignant out of nowhere. His chapter about his friendship with Emma Watson is genuinely moving. The stories about Alan Rickman, Richard Harris, and Robbie Coltrane are amusing and bittersweet. The chapter about him being seduced by the dark side of the force (read: Hollywood) and getting an intervention was very good. I just wish the book was a bit longer; it always gives me a bit of whiplash when people zoom from one big event to another. Not every memoir needs to be 500 pages but this one feels extra brief.

7/10