Ethan Manning

I struggled at the end with this one, Janny Wurts sometimes writes from another century. But I still have to 5 star it, the sheer invention, the incredible scope is awe inspiring, and the send off was Tolkien-esque. Also, Wurts has developed wonderful characters throughout this series, it was a pleasure to finish their arcs. I still maintain I don't know a series that does the classical wizard archetype better, none. The magic system is clearly well mapped, never explained, and hard to read long passages of in depth but it never felt like a cop-out and like everything Wurts attempts: ambitious and with 100% commitment. The passages involving direct "divine experiences" are biblical, and often cathartic.

What an incredible journey, I want to be sailing with Arithon, or working with Dakar during the long peace.

This one had high highs. There are two mysteries set up earlier that come to fruition and boy howdy was that cool to read. This novel does a lot of work to organize and pay off things in general. Very excited for Song of the Mysteries.

What a mind bending journey. Really interesting how knowledge of the future is worked into this story. Many characters are acting based on what they know will happen, but Chew-Z (the drug this book is about) just wrecks that reliability.

Interesting exploration of some themes of Christianity as well, in a very unique and interesting way.

PKD is an example of how you can have very efficient, simple prose with little style, but still produce amazing stories with an ocean sized helping of creativity and feeling. This is probably my favorite book of his yet.

Very odd book. You are truly in the head of a person, there are no illusions, delusions aplenty, but pride or decency are left well behind by our narrator. And the conditions draw some harsh inhumane things out of him. I think about the story and how it is about work, being stripped of agency, and relying on other individuals to help you eat or continue to live, masters and also "partners". How much do you fight the injustice of your plight as a worker bee, what would you sacrifice to get closer to escape from the cycle? There is an interplay between wanting to walk away and also resigning oneself to the cyclical patterns of work that trap us 52 weeks a year. Be prepared to hear about sand, sand in your hair, on your clothes in your mouth, and some very evocative writing about being thirsty.

I would read Kobo Abe again.

Incredibly refreshing and informative. This book could be particularly helpful to former Christians, trying to think differently about death and the afterlife.

For me Christianity as taught by parents, created a mental and cosmological box that encased all knowledge learned in life. Knowledge was 'worldly" and it always contained an asterisk, this stuff is all subject to the universe that God created and it's rules. As if God, Heaven and Hell existed totally outside of the universe.

So seeing where these ideas came from, who wrote them, who didn't write or teach them, and how contemporary philosophy and religion influenced early Christian thought, it's just made a strong case for the fact that Hell and Heaven are man made concepts. They are wishes of people who want post mortem rewards and punishments. A kind of religious coping mechanism (often for a minority group who was persecuted politically and for faith).

I liked that it summarized the ideas of the afterlife thought of by ancient writers and philosophers too (Homer, Epicurus, Lucretius). Epicurus and Lucretius managed in a couple sentences to radically change my outlook towards death. It's a shame their ideas didn't have as much influence as ones from Christianity because feel like it could lead to people living fuller lives, to being steered by one's own ambitions and joys, rather than a fear of hell.

Really great short story. Gripping, sad, and captivating all in a few pages. I could read an entire book set in this period of the WOLAS story.

Yup, he's still got it.

Simply a revelation.

My 2nd Dostoevsky novel, the first was TBK. The characters in this explode off the page, there's an exuberance that I'm never quite ready for but always draws me in. I loved this book, it's moral (the pensive reflection that is contagious), there are great characters and monsters at times, great foils, and the ending. THE ENDING. Just so beautiful, honest and perfect.

Better than book 2. The Jordan quirks are still there and still annoying. But the different story arcs were more consistently interesting compared to the first 2 books, and the finale was also better. I was definitely impressed with the quality improvements in some areas, I felt much more balanced and there was an improved pace to the story. But it still has long plain descriptions, juvenile relationships and conflict, a weird gender dynamic with heavy undertones of repressed sexuality, and the main plot is just good and evil. It can still be fun despite all this. I'll say I hope future books have setting/culture changes because each place feels the same and the people act the same with paper-thin cosmetic changes.

To the point, episodic, thoughtful, a fantasy story about an eccentric sorcerer king who must quest to help his kingdom and save someone. Loved the dynamic of living up to the traditions of your culture vs wanting to improve it through some kind of enlightenment. There is tropey "damsel" element to the story, but it was small and hopefully said character gets more agency further on. This was a weird one but thought provoking, great character introspection, cultural reflection, and interesting things that manage to fit into the story rather than stand out or too bluntly mirror our world.

3.5
An engaging bullet of science fiction, no fat on it, reads like a police procedural. Vance's writing is an example of efficient “workmanlike” prose that is perfectly good for the story being told.

Rating 2.5
Better than Book 1, a fun fantasy adventure, will read Book 3 eventually.

Pros: Better story than TEotW (still a grab bag of fantasy tropes), the climax was more original and easier to follow, worldbuilding gets cooler, more lore from certain POVs, more balanced story and pacing.

Cons: repetitive and un-beautiful prose, simplistic characterization, tiring boy/girl obsession-romance (it's not even really romance just crushes that are cringy). The perspective of men and women in this world is weird, we're constantly reminded that men need to marry women, men need women to “settle them down”. It almost feels like you're trapped in a house with fundamentalists that constantly bring up their odd black and white views of gender norms.

I can't put my finger on it completely, because on the surface the world is matriarchal and seemingly has a refreshing anti-patriarchal complexion (given the role magic wielding men have played in the history of this world) but even still there are contradictory undertones. The descriptions dance around the “shape” of some of the women a little too much and it feels sly and deceptive for an otherwise wholesome story afraid of crossing lines, there's a sect of Aes Sedai that eschew warders and hate men (a man hating lesbian undertone if you will). There's more too to this sloppy hypothesis, I will try to update this at a later date.

A very intricate and slow burn novel. Here Dickens is not in a hurry, and the spread out side characters are challenging to remember...the story's end was tragic and sad but then very tender and happy. Dickens manages to tell a mystery, and also a coa story, and a tragedy. I know this story contained nuances that I missed and I plan on reading it again, I do not blame Dickens style for this I think I needed a different approach. Read this book with other people, a buddy read, bookclub, take your time and you will get the most out of this winding work.

4.5. This feels silly to rate. This book was a complete joy to read, learned a lot about conducting orchestras and classical music in general.

Really though the candid stories that bring alive or introduce figures in classical music you didn't know about made this book a complete joy. It brings you through the past, to the 60's the 70's and so on, and manages at every point to make you think of music or an instrument, or the act of studying music from a new angle, or introduces something you had never thought of in an engaging way.

I found so many symphonies and musical pieces to look up, conductors to search for, and it was so fun to listen to certain music and try to hear a bit of what Seiji Ozawa and Haruki Murakami were hearing.

The book was so eye opening and informative and the format was such a joy it makes me wish other books on various subjects could somehow replicate this format. But so much of the books charm and welcoming feeling probably came from the relationship between the two writers which is not an easy thing to plan and arrange. Fantastic Book I recommend it to anyone starting to become interested in classical music or famous symphonies.

4.5 Stars. Extremely well written and well researched - books like this normally are dry, yet Mattei's writing is clear and invigorating. I learned a lot about economic Austerity, and Italian and British history in the interwar period. So many footnotes.

Recommended to anyone looking for a book about Austerity.

This book was amazing, and funny, and thrilling and beautiful. Wurts' writing is startlingly poignant and aggressively different than the majority of fantasy writing. She packs in details about things that makes the world feel more real (ex. horse/horse riding knowledge). The main characters were fascinating and very appealing, the world itself has so many mysteries I can't wait to read more. This book plays on a lot of fantasy tropes, exploring them from different angles and confronting ugly aspects of fantasy/quest/prophecy stories that are often overlooked. Can't wait for what's in store.

2.5 stars.
This book has some rough edges, combat scenes were hard to follow, and there was not a strong hook in the beginning. But through flashbacks, getting to characters I recognized, and warming up to some new ones I ended up enjoying myself. It was very cool seeing this fantasy world through its co-creators eyes.

The flashback with the “Sword” was a highlight, as was the man who walks edges, and a certain Mage with a queue.

3.5
A unique fantasy book that makes use of intergenerational oral traditions, an interesting framed narrative, and mythology. There were times I wanted different things out of the tale, and the resolution was a bit clunky. That being said the authorial voice of this story is very unique, how different local POV's are woven throughout. I have not read anything quite like it.

A timeless book. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote it at 19, it's a masterpiece of a story. This is why we read classics.

This 2nd trilogy begins with a fantastic premise, everything has changed. We get to explore and try to discover both why, and how to fix things. Donaldson gets a lot of mileage out of this conceit.

I enjoyed that Covenant is different this time, he feels matured or at least at peace with his life and history. This “tilted” quest is very good, the new sidekick is extremely intriguing though their arc does not get finished. In fact this whole book very much so feels like 1/3rd of a story - so the conclusion is not super conclusive (more on this later).

I think the themes have to do with how things that we are supposed to love and cherish get corrupted, by ourselves, and others, and how facing and experiencing that affected “thing” can be extremely hard, but that it is worth risking yourself in order to make things right (I think. I'm only ⅓ into a trilogy). Corruption is built on falseness, in word and deed. In this novel the corruption of words and the record of history is explored and leads to profound moments.

The book drags a little bit in the third act and the familiarity of fantasy quest tropes made it a little repetitive. But remember how I said the conclusion isn't conclusive? Well it IS cathartic - Donaldson manages to make you forget the larger story and dwell on a bow that needed to be tied. What we got was one of the most powerful and good feeling moments in all of his work I've thus read. Home run of an ending, it was both perfectly logical for his story and also a rabbit out of a hat.

Some unforgettable characters in Oliver Twist, a good story that felt rushed at the end. My 2nd Dickens novel, as I read it I began picking up on how many other stories and series drew from this book. Also, Dickens writes quite affectingly about death and facing death, those moments leapt off the page, under the skin, and into the soul.

A propelling story of a young man's love. Beautiful flowing prose, metaphor and description on point.

A great ending to the trilogy. Donaldson's writing here is excellently balanced between the different plotlines.

4.5 stars.

A mesmerizing sequel. As always the story is deeply psychological for Covenant, but this book also included a fascinating foil for his character that puts Covenant's relationship with his...circumstances in stark relief, and adds a new war/battle dimension to the story. Covenant is not a hero, but I felt it is written in a way where you actually understand and process with him what that means for a world that cannot help but see him as a hero. He's conniving and selfish, a lesson in what not to be but also a reflection on the worst parts of human nature. The third act was amazing.

How Donaldson followed up on certain “events” from LFB was unsettling and curious.