Victor Hugo Kebbe
First of all, I bought this book because of the video game series, one of the most famous E-RPGs ever made. Despite the physical resemblance (and even in some other aspects of his personality) with Elric, Geralt is a very interesting character.
This book is actually a collection of short stories of our witcher friend, culminating in the fateful encounter with the famous (and infamous) sorceress Yennefer. This short story Edge of the World and The Last Wish are, without a doubt, the best. The pace of the narrative is quite amazing and the unfolding of the plot has lots of fun.
I totally forgot that I did read this book once, two years ago. That's bad, because it showed me how this book did not affect me regarding the Star Trek TNG lore. It has a good storyline and Vornholt knows how to make the reader engaged, but it's not enough... Unfortunately, it's just like a regular episode of the TV series, not one of those important that we remember for years and years...
Original Review (2014): I have mixed feelings about this book. Sanderson came with such an amazing setting and, despite hating all this need to every single fantasy title to have a magic-system-mumbo-jumbo, his is very original. Nevertheless, plot is quite mediocre, with cardboard characters. It is somehow a fast read, but the writer repeats several phrases throughout the book. A fine piece of entertainment, but entertainment only.
Updated Review (2024): I've been venturing into TikTok for the past few days, mainly following booktokers. After several days following these people, I realized that, in the area of Fantasy literature, many have a great appreciation for Brandon Sanderson and the entire unfolding of his production that, now unified, he calls Cosmere. Nothing against the author, but I wonder about his quite expressive popularity there. I read Mistborn in 2013 after following several recommendations and I was quite disappointed with this particular title. At the time, everyone extolled the importance of having a “coherent magic system”. At that time, it seemed, due to the amount of articles and comments about it, that this would mark the quality of the narrative, as if we needed very well-defined rules (like the scientific method) to explain the fantastic elements such as Magic in these stories. However, this is, in my opinion, the biggest flaw in the proposal: when the fantastic elements need to be explained within a pseudo-scientific rationality, it ceases to be fantastic. The various societies of the world have never needed this Western rationality to create their stories and complex mythologies. This has always been the fight between the genres of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the latter of which, in fact, relies on this idea of scientific rationality to tell captivating stories. I understand Sanderson's appeal at the time. And I also understand the success of Sanderson and his books in our Western context, which values this specific idea of rationality. With his idea of Allomancy, he created rules that seemed important at the time. But I went back to my notes on Mistborn and came across, at the time, a finely crafted “magic system” with two-dimensional characters and a rather average narrative. A “coherent magic system” does not make a book a book.
Another excellent book by [a:Ursula K. Le Guin 874602 Ursula K. Le Guin https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg]. Here she brings a more adult Ged/Sparrowhawk to the narrative, a fantastic unfolding of what she accomplished in the previous two books. You can notice the growth of the character Ged, now in his winter and on the edge of the land without sun.In a similar manner to the second book, [b:The Tombs of Atuan 13662 The Tombs of Atuan (Earthsea Cycle, #2) Ursula K. Le Guin https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1166571534s/13662.jpg 1322146], Ged gets to the aid of another character, the immature and passionate Arren/Lebannen, teaching him important lessons about life and death. The end of the book is impressive, showing how [a:Ursula K. Le Guin 874602 Ursula K. Le Guin https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] knows how to keep the pace, style and the raise an amazing climax such as seen in the previous books, [b:A Wizard of Earthsea 13642 A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1) Ursula K. Le Guin https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353424536s/13642.jpg 113603] and [b:The Tombs of Atuan 13662 The Tombs of Atuan (Earthsea Cycle, #2) Ursula K. Le Guin https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1166571534s/13662.jpg 1322146]. A classic, and a must read for all fantasy fans.
The Rats in the Walls is a classic tale by Lovecraft, evoking several gothic elements to create the atmosphere of Horror. While most of the famous tales of Lovecraft is located in the US (Providence), this one is in England, in an old castle built on Celtic, Roman and Saxon remains. It's interesting to see how Lovecraft uses all the clichés in his favor, bringing something totally new.
I read [b:Coraline 17061 Coraline Neil Gaiman https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327871014s/17061.jpg 2834844], [b:Neverwhere 14497 Neverwhere Neil Gaiman https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348747943s/14497.jpg 16534], [b:Stardust 16793 Stardust Neil Gaiman https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328433738s/16793.jpg 3166179], [b:The Graveyard Book 2213661 The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1303859949s/2213661.jpg 2219449], [b:The Ocean at the End of the Lane 15783514 The Ocean at the End of the Lane Neil Gaiman https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351914778s/15783514.jpg 21500681] and [b:Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch 12067 Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch Terry Pratchett https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392528568s/12067.jpg 4110990] before [b:American Gods 4407 American Gods (American Gods, #1) Neil Gaiman https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1258417001s/4407.jpg 1970226] and, definitely, this one is the best. Its similarities with Sandman make this book even better than I expected, full of sophisticated discussions that I missed in his other books. I enjoyed a lot the use of Mythologies, one overlapping the other, showing the complex tapestry that is the human mind.
Such an amazing book, discussing the changes of the funeral ceremonies in Japan. I do not fully agree with this perspective of Commoditization and Mass Consumption the author brings on (with all the corollary of thinkers who emphasize this approach), but it's a beautiful ethnography, it opens your eyes to understand several key aspects of Japanese culture.
It was certainly an enjoyable reading experience. The main and side characters are all lovely (maybe except for that Ambrose) and I must confess I was in love with Fela (I hate you, Denna, ahah!). Kvothe, with the help of the Chronicler, has lots and lots of stories to tell, all dense, some of them lovely, some of them quite sad.
Patrick Rothfuss has a beautiful prose, what made me feel hooked since the beginning. It's not a five star book to me because of the “excess” of the magic system. I know it's because of the writer's background and I know there are lots of fantasy fans who loves these articulated magic systems, but I think there is something wrong when you're having Chemistry classes in a Fantasy book. Not because I find it boring (that's me; I respect those ones who likes it and I admire a lot Patrick Rothfuss), but because it tries to make a fantastic world/reality more cartesian and rational such as ours, inputing a way of seeing the world that is quite particular to our one, with artificial rules and abstract laws of understanding/comprehending the Reality (or realities, if I may tease you).
Also, the boundaries that defines Fantasy and Science Fiction are quite well known because of the scientific approach and, well, I'm not reading a Sci Fi book... Thinking about Todorov's words on this, I find it quite problematic, especially when the reader are not becoming amazed, sometimes shocked and entangled with the Fantastic. What is and where is the Fantastic after all?
Despite this review (which I find pivotal, if not harsh, when discussing the Fantastic), I did have a great time reading this book. I found myself singing the songs all the way! I already bought the sequel, anxious to read it. Well done, Patrick!
Dream Country is one of the best collections of stand alone tales of Sandman, all of them bringing amazing stories that everyone must read. The first, Calliope, tell us about writer's block and how the Dream changed after his captivity; A Tale of Thousand Cats, the second tale, is just AWESOME, talking about the captivity of our bodies and minds... Midnight Summer's Dream tell us about our captivity of our wishes, dreams and aspirations; the final one, Facade, about of us and the captivity of old masks and identities... It's just amazing. it was after reading Hy Bender's Sandman Companion that I've learned several “secrets” (hidden layers is a better term) in Midnight Summer's Dream... Gaiman is awesome, with Sandman as his master work.
It's a nice book, that keeps the reader in the same immersion and feeling you get when playing the Diablo videogames. It's not a Horror or Lovecraftian story as I was imagining earlier, but it's a fine “preparation” for those who wants to play the Diablo 3 videogame. It sets everything for Cain Deckard and Leah, introducing another two important characters that will be very important to the game plot.
It's a nice book, that keeps the reader in the same immersion and feeling you get when playing the Diablo videogames. It's not a Horror or Lovecraftian story as I was imagining earlier, but it's a fine “preparation” for those who wants to play the Diablo 3 videogame. It sets everything for Cain Deckard and Leah, introducing another two important characters that will be very important to the game plot.
Spoilers ahead!
Definitely one of the finest Star Wars books... but I believe I like the continuation most. I like Zahn's new characters, such as Talon Carrde, Mara Jade and Garm Bel Iblis and I believe he's did a great job with Fey'lya.
Nonetheless, I think that Zahn could have killed someone or put the Empire in advantage at the end of this book, just like the Empire Strikes Back, to motivate the reader to continue the reading... You know what happens with the Katana Fleet, C'Baoth is gaining power and Thrawn loses an Imperial Star Destroyer... and what else? Where to go? I'm not suggesting a rehash, but I think it lacks that nice cliffhanger at the end...
Spoilers ahead!
A fine beginning, but that's all. After reading it a lot of times, I feel quite disapointed with the first book, maybe because Zahn is almost building a “new Star Wars trilogy” and is introducing the new characters (despite being a lot of times better than the new movie trilogy...). I definitely prefer the third book in this book cycle, “The Last Command”.
Amazing, amazing... Reading this book after having read almost all other books by Neil Gaiman was quite invigorating. I definitely prefer Gaiman's graphic novels (Sandman, Death and The Books of Magic, etc) than his books, especially because of the difference in format, besides, of course, the narrative combined with great artists. John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess and Paul Johnson elevate this graphic novel to a new level, transforming it into a must-read fpor everyone who loves Comics.
I can easily remember Rowling's Harry Potter and Le Guin's Sparrowhawk when learning magic, but it's Timothy Hunter who comes close to our mundane reality. It is precisely our proximity to Hunter which gives the book one of the best qualities of the Fantasy genre, which is to establish a dialectical and quite interesting relationship between the reader and the main character when dealing with the fantastic. The Books of Magic is a masterpiece after all, easily getting alongside Sandman (unfortunately I can not say the same about the author's books).