Andrew
A disappointing follow-up to The Prisoner of Zenda, with a surprisingly bitter undercurrent to it all.
The true king, Rudolph Elphsburg, suffers PTSD from his captivity in the previous novel and paranoia that his wife and closest advisors all preferred his imposter, Rudolph Rassendyll...and he's 100% correct. His so-called friends despise and despair of his leadership and the central conflict of the plot involves trying to cover up the long-running emotional affair Queen Flavia and Rassendyll have been carrying on behind his back. When Elphsburg is murdered by the titular villain, everyone treats it as a win-win.
The novel suffers on three counts. First, that it is narrated by the stuffy and Germanic nobleman Fritz, who saps the story of energy and immediacy with his lengthy, florid, archaic language.
Second, that it overuses the impersonations, double-crosses, and misunderstandings until it becomes a confused mess: "we know that he knows that we know that he knows the King is in Zenda, but he doesn't know that we know that he knows we know that he knows!" and so forth...
And third, there's no escaping that the central conflict is an issue entirely of the protagonists' own making as they work to cover up the Queen's affair in the guise of "protecting her honor." Maybe that morality played better in 1896 but it has not held up at all.
A disappointing follow-up to The Prisoner of Zenda, with a surprisingly bitter undercurrent to it all.
The true king, Rudolph Elphsburg, suffers PTSD from his captivity in the previous novel and paranoia that his wife and closest advisors all preferred his imposter, Rudolph Rassendyll...and he's 100% correct. His so-called friends despise and despair of his leadership and the central conflict of the plot involves trying to cover up the long-running emotional affair Queen Flavia and Rassendyll have been carrying on behind his back. When Elphsburg is murdered by the titular villain, everyone treats it as a win-win.
The novel suffers on three counts. First, that it is narrated by the stuffy and Germanic nobleman Fritz, who saps the story of energy and immediacy with his lengthy, florid, archaic language.
Second, that it overuses the impersonations, double-crosses, and misunderstandings until it becomes a confused mess: "we know that he knows that we know that he knows the King is in Zenda, but he doesn't know that we know that he knows we know that he knows!" and so forth...
And third, there's no escaping that the central conflict is an issue entirely of the protagonists' own making as they work to cover up the Queen's affair in the guise of "protecting her honor." Maybe that morality played better in 1896 but it has not held up at all.
Always love a good Quarry story...eight books into the series, you know exactly what you're getting. Sex, murder, double-crossing, Midwestern sleaze, and all the rest.
The previous book, The Last Quarry, saw the titular hitman coming out of retirement after a long time away. This standalone tale jumps all the way back to his first job in 1970. One could argue that Quarry is too cool and collected for a rookie hitman, considering everything that goes wrong with this job. I feel like it was a missed opportunity to show him learning on the job more and growing into the hardened Quarry we know from the other books, but apparently he was just born that way. It's also a remarkable coincidence how many of the women he runs into came straight from the pages of Penthouse magazine...but as always, Max Allan Collins is a master of this type of seedy crime noir storytelling and The First Quarry is a gritty, entertaining, page-turner.
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My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
Always love a good Quarry story...eight books into the series, you know exactly what you're getting. Sex, murder, double-crossing, Midwestern sleaze, and all the rest.
The previous book, The Last Quarry, saw the titular hitman coming out of retirement after a long time away. This standalone tale jumps all the way back to his first job in 1970. One could argue that Quarry is too cool and collected for a rookie hitman, considering everything that goes wrong with this job. I feel like it was a missed opportunity to show him learning on the job more and growing into the hardened Quarry we know from the other books, but apparently he was just born that way. It's also a remarkable coincidence how many of the women he runs into came straight from the pages of Penthouse magazine...but as always, Max Allan Collins is a master of this type of seedy crime noir storytelling and The First Quarry is a gritty, entertaining, page-turner.
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My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
Updated a reading goal:
Read 48 books in 2026
Progress so far: 24 / 48 50%
An informative and comprehensive history of crime, punishment, and fringe social status in 16th century Nuremberg that uses the city's long-serving executioner, Frantz Schmidt, as a through-line.
Harrington uses Schmidt's privately kept journal as a starting point for the history but significantly buttresses it with memoirs of the ministers and city officials Schmidt worked under, court records, census data, etc., to paint a vivid and likely accurate picture life in the city at that time.
Where it falls short in my opinion is in the central through-line of bringing Frantz Schmidt to life and providing an intimate look inside his mind through the text of his journal, which Harrington acknowledges is mainly just a list of the executions and punishments Schmidt performed with, at most, a few added details.
Harrington regularly appears to leap to assumptions about Schmidt's opinion on a case based on the fact that he described the crime instead of just the method of execution, that he wrote 3 sentences instead of 2, or that he never bothered to record a particular detail...and then uses those assumptions as foundational building blocks for Schmidt's personality.
Overall, good as a history of a fairly specific and niche window in time, less good as a convincing psychological profile of Meister Frantz Schmidt.
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My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
An informative and comprehensive history of crime, punishment, and fringe social status in 16th century Nuremberg that uses the city's long-serving executioner, Frantz Schmidt, as a through-line.
Harrington uses Schmidt's privately kept journal as a starting point for the history but significantly buttresses it with memoirs of the ministers and city officials Schmidt worked under, court records, census data, etc., to paint a vivid and likely accurate picture life in the city at that time.
Where it falls short in my opinion is in the central through-line of bringing Frantz Schmidt to life and providing an intimate look inside his mind through the text of his journal, which Harrington acknowledges is mainly just a list of the executions and punishments Schmidt performed with, at most, a few added details.
Harrington regularly appears to leap to assumptions about Schmidt's opinion on a case based on the fact that he described the crime instead of just the method of execution, that he wrote 3 sentences instead of 2, or that he never bothered to record a particular detail...and then uses those assumptions as foundational building blocks for Schmidt's personality.
Overall, good as a history of a fairly specific and niche window in time, less good as a convincing psychological profile of Meister Frantz Schmidt.
_____
My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
Updated a reading goal:
Read 25k pages in 2026
Progress so far: 6612 / 25000 26%
Easy to see why this story was so popular it spawned an entire genre of "Romantic, Swashbuckling Adventures Set in Vaguely Germanic Fictional European Countries." It also, along with The Prince and the Pauper, established the trope of an uncanny lookalike having to impersonate a public figure in order to keep up appearances.
Despite being well over a hundred years old, it's still an easy, entertaining, witty, and action-packed read that flies by.
Easy to see why this story was so popular it spawned an entire genre of "Romantic, Swashbuckling Adventures Set in Vaguely Germanic Fictional European Countries." It also, along with The Prince and the Pauper, established the trope of an uncanny lookalike having to impersonate a public figure in order to keep up appearances.
Despite being well over a hundred years old, it's still an easy, entertaining, witty, and action-packed read that flies by.
Full-disclosure up front: my 5 star rating is a reflection of the impact the book had on me the first time I read it 16 years ago as a recent college dropout with no prospects who had just moved back to my hometown, dissatisfied with my Catholic faith, and with no prior knowledge of Stoicism.
At that time, it was electric and revelatory. It opened the door to Stoic philosophy for me, which radically changed my way of thinking. Rereading now as someone older, more secure in my worldview, and with a broader understanding of Stoicism, I'd rate it around 3 stars.
The book is written as an introduction to Stoic philosophy and attempts to "update" it to make it applicable to modern life. It's roughly divided into 4 parts: part one being a brief history of the development and practice of Stoicism in ancient Greece and Rome, part two covering the basic axioms of Stoic practice, part three in which the author demonstrates how those practices can be of use in our daily life, and part four in which he attempts to head off criticism or doubters.
The author focuses heavily on negative visualization, or the practice of imagining bad things happening so that we're more appreciative of them not happening and more prepared for if they do. To quote one passage:
We need to keep firmly in mind that everything we value and the people we love will someday be lost to us. If nothing else, our own death will deprive us of them. More generally, we should keep in mind that any human activity that cannot be carried on indefinitely must have a final occurrence. There will be - or already has been! - a last time in your life that you will brush your teeth, cut your hair, drive a car, mow the lawn, or play hopscotch. There will be a last time you hear the sound of snow falling, watch the moon rise, smell popcorn, feel the warmth of a child falling asleep in your armals, or make love. You will someday eat your last meal, and soon thereafter you will take your last breath.
The point of this is not to leave people paralyzed with anxiety but to make them more aware of and connected to the moment, both to not take good things for granted and also to not over-catastrophize the bad things. "This too shall pass..."
The book does a good job of hammering home this point, and the author works hard to combat the perception of Stoics as cold, emotionless, robotic, etc. In practice, a good Stoic should naturally be more optimistic and relaxed than the average person, without letting themselves get carried away by the highs or lows.
The book is less successful in the third and fourth parts. Irvine does not practice a pure form of Stoicism but has simply adapted some of the more accessible practices into his own personal life and is heavily informed by his pre-existing conceptions (he was a practicing Buddhist previously) and some of his defenses of Stoicism in the fourth part feel like loosely-constructed strawmen.
However, I still find the book to be a good entry to Stoicism and would recommend it as a starting point to someone interested in the philosophy but would quickly follow that up with a recommendation of classical Stoic literature to buttress it. To his credit, Irvine says the same himself and provides a lengthy recommended reading list in the appendix.
This book is very much an elementary take on Stoicism and one should not expect to walk away an expert after reading it. But to someone in the same position I once was, lost and questioning, it can open an invaluable door towards making sense of life.
This is the downside of failing to develop an effective philosophy of life: you end up wasting the one life you have.
_____
My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
Full-disclosure up front: my 5 star rating is a reflection of the impact the book had on me the first time I read it 16 years ago as a recent college dropout with no prospects who had just moved back to my hometown, dissatisfied with my Catholic faith, and with no prior knowledge of Stoicism.
At that time, it was electric and revelatory. It opened the door to Stoic philosophy for me, which radically changed my way of thinking. Rereading now as someone older, more secure in my worldview, and with a broader understanding of Stoicism, I'd rate it around 3 stars.
The book is written as an introduction to Stoic philosophy and attempts to "update" it to make it applicable to modern life. It's roughly divided into 4 parts: part one being a brief history of the development and practice of Stoicism in ancient Greece and Rome, part two covering the basic axioms of Stoic practice, part three in which the author demonstrates how those practices can be of use in our daily life, and part four in which he attempts to head off criticism or doubters.
The author focuses heavily on negative visualization, or the practice of imagining bad things happening so that we're more appreciative of them not happening and more prepared for if they do. To quote one passage:
We need to keep firmly in mind that everything we value and the people we love will someday be lost to us. If nothing else, our own death will deprive us of them. More generally, we should keep in mind that any human activity that cannot be carried on indefinitely must have a final occurrence. There will be - or already has been! - a last time in your life that you will brush your teeth, cut your hair, drive a car, mow the lawn, or play hopscotch. There will be a last time you hear the sound of snow falling, watch the moon rise, smell popcorn, feel the warmth of a child falling asleep in your armals, or make love. You will someday eat your last meal, and soon thereafter you will take your last breath.
The point of this is not to leave people paralyzed with anxiety but to make them more aware of and connected to the moment, both to not take good things for granted and also to not over-catastrophize the bad things. "This too shall pass..."
The book does a good job of hammering home this point, and the author works hard to combat the perception of Stoics as cold, emotionless, robotic, etc. In practice, a good Stoic should naturally be more optimistic and relaxed than the average person, without letting themselves get carried away by the highs or lows.
The book is less successful in the third and fourth parts. Irvine does not practice a pure form of Stoicism but has simply adapted some of the more accessible practices into his own personal life and is heavily informed by his pre-existing conceptions (he was a practicing Buddhist previously) and some of his defenses of Stoicism in the fourth part feel like loosely-constructed strawmen.
However, I still find the book to be a good entry to Stoicism and would recommend it as a starting point to someone interested in the philosophy but would quickly follow that up with a recommendation of classical Stoic literature to buttress it. To his credit, Irvine says the same himself and provides a lengthy recommended reading list in the appendix.
This book is very much an elementary take on Stoicism and one should not expect to walk away an expert after reading it. But to someone in the same position I once was, lost and questioning, it can open an invaluable door towards making sense of life.
This is the downside of failing to develop an effective philosophy of life: you end up wasting the one life you have.
_____
My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
Always frustrating to find out that, not only did someone already write the story you had kinda sorta meant to get around to writing someday, they did it just about before you were even born.
This is a story of the Black Company, a mercenary company with a long history that has now found itself in service to an evil cabal of ancient, undead sorcerors. Despite that, there are relatively few battles or detailed action sequences in the book. Part of this is because the main character, Croaker, is the company's medic and historian and isn't present on the front lines. But more so, that just isn't the story Glen Cook has set out to tell.
The narrative and pacing of this book reminded me more of my own time in the Army than any other fantasy novel. Anyone who has had to live the phrase, "Hurry up and wait," should easily be able to identify with the men of the Black Company. They sit around their barracks playing card games and discussing rumors of how the war is going on the other fronts (and are often wrong). They play pranks on each other to kill time. They grumble and complain about their orders but carry them out anyway, then find a dry place to sit down and break the deck of cards out again. This is the story of any close-knit fighting unit from any war ever, whether that be me and my friends sitting somewhere in Iraq twenty years ago or a fantasy mercenary unit with sorcery who conjure great flaming worms up from the dirt to eat out their enemies eyeballs.
"The unwritten law of all armies, Captain. The lower ranks have the privilege of questioning the sanity and competence of their commanders. It's the mortar holding an army together."
_____
My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
Always frustrating to find out that, not only did someone already write the story you had kinda sorta meant to get around to writing someday, they did it just about before you were even born.
This is a story of the Black Company, a mercenary company with a long history that has now found itself in service to an evil cabal of ancient, undead sorcerors. Despite that, there are relatively few battles or detailed action sequences in the book. Part of this is because the main character, Croaker, is the company's medic and historian and isn't present on the front lines. But more so, that just isn't the story Glen Cook has set out to tell.
The narrative and pacing of this book reminded me more of my own time in the Army than any other fantasy novel. Anyone who has had to live the phrase, "Hurry up and wait," should easily be able to identify with the men of the Black Company. They sit around their barracks playing card games and discussing rumors of how the war is going on the other fronts (and are often wrong). They play pranks on each other to kill time. They grumble and complain about their orders but carry them out anyway, then find a dry place to sit down and break the deck of cards out again. This is the story of any close-knit fighting unit from any war ever, whether that be me and my friends sitting somewhere in Iraq twenty years ago or a fantasy mercenary unit with sorcery who conjure great flaming worms up from the dirt to eat out their enemies eyeballs.
"The unwritten law of all armies, Captain. The lower ranks have the privilege of questioning the sanity and competence of their commanders. It's the mortar holding an army together."
_____
My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
Boy, did this book annoy me. If not for the dozens of people telling me to press on, the series gets better, it'll be worth it in the end, I would've happily chucked this one aside with no lingering regret.
As is, this was my third time trying to complete this book, having previously stalled out around the 10% and 25% marks, and I still set it aside for weeks at a time. All the criticisms you've heard are true: it drops you straight into the middle of a story with no preamble. There is a huge cast of characters to keep track of. It is desperately in need of an editor. Some of the races and places appear to have been named by a generic fantasy name generator (when I doubt, throw an apostrophe into the n'ame to make it s'ound e'x'o't'i'c).
The differing storylines and POV characters don't start to coalesce into an actual plot until more than halfway through the book, and that's relatively quickly and anti-climacticly wrapped up. Hard to justify why it took 500 pages to get to this point and if I ever read the next book in the series it will be down to all the assurances I've had that they get better and my own sunk cost fallacy.
Boy, did this book annoy me. If not for the dozens of people telling me to press on, the series gets better, it'll be worth it in the end, I would've happily chucked this one aside with no lingering regret.
As is, this was my third time trying to complete this book, having previously stalled out around the 10% and 25% marks, and I still set it aside for weeks at a time. All the criticisms you've heard are true: it drops you straight into the middle of a story with no preamble. There is a huge cast of characters to keep track of. It is desperately in need of an editor. Some of the races and places appear to have been named by a generic fantasy name generator (when I doubt, throw an apostrophe into the n'ame to make it s'ound e'x'o't'i'c).
The differing storylines and POV characters don't start to coalesce into an actual plot until more than halfway through the book, and that's relatively quickly and anti-climacticly wrapped up. Hard to justify why it took 500 pages to get to this point and if I ever read the next book in the series it will be down to all the assurances I've had that they get better and my own sunk cost fallacy.
Better than the preceding book, but still overly long. Grayson's character develops a little more nuance but the rest of the supporting cast are broad-stroke archetypes and I question the efficacy of some of the military tactics on offer...but as a licensed lore expansion of a tabletop gaming universe, it's a good read.
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1680 x 1264
My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
Better than the preceding book, but still overly long. Grayson's character develops a little more nuance but the rest of the supporting cast are broad-stroke archetypes and I question the efficacy of some of the military tactics on offer...but as a licensed lore expansion of a tabletop gaming universe, it's a good read.
_____
1680 x 1264
My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
