Matt

I wanted to like this book so badly. This is the 10th Leigh Bardugo book I’ve read. Before reading this she was batting a perfect 1.000 for me. Of the nine books I had read by her previously I would say that I enjoyed every single one. What’s even crazier is that I felt like she had been getting better. Her two most recent books (Ninth House and Hell Bent) were my two favorites. To top it off, it’s a historical fantasy book set in the time of the Spanish Inquisition, which is a really interesting time period and one rife to do fun things with from a fantasy writer’s perspective. To say that I went into The Familiar with high expectations would be an understatement. I didn’t just think that I would like it. I felt like I already knew that I would like it.

And yet I didn’t. I waited for the moment for the book to click for me and it never did. I don’t think The Familiar is totally irredeemable. Bardugo clearly did a ton of research into the setting, there are some really cool set pieces and some of the supporting characters are really cool. There are really only a couple of criticisms that I can make about the book. Unfortunately they are pretty big mistakes.

The first is that I just don’t find the main characters to be interesting at all. Here I’m mostly talking about Luzia and Santangel, who are easily the most prominent characters in the book. I just can’t bring myself to care about them, which is a really big problem because the book really needs you to be emotionally invested in them and their love story. Luzia is just boring and when she’s not boring she’s antagonistic to the point that it makes it hard to root for her. Santangel is a cardboard cutout of ‘edgy male love interest’ to the point that I could believe he was a character in a Twilight knockoff. When you have a romance between these two characters and have that be one of the biggest storylines of your book, the book isn’t going to be good. A novel can survive having boring or unlikable side characters. But even the best worldbuilding, supporting characters and pacing cannot save a book in which the two main characters just aren’t compelling. What’s so strange about this criticism is that I know for a fact that Bardugo can write characters like this extremely well. Alex from Ninth House and Hell Bent shares plenty of similarities with Luzia on paper but she’s actually great and is a huge part of what makes those books so good. Nikolai from the Grishaverse has some stuff in common with Santangel but he was easily compelling enough to carry a duology by himself. If a writer who I didn’t have as much faith in wrote these characters I’d be more forgiving but once again I know that Bardugo can do better than this and that’s what makes this criticism so frustrating.

While most of what I dislike about the book comes down to the fact that I just don’t care about Luzia and Santangel, it also has to be mentioned that this book has some weird pacing issues. I feel like it’s way too long and yet somehow feels rushed at various points as well. There is a lot of stuff going on throughout this book and I feel like a few sections or subplots could easily be taken out and make the book better.

For an NBA player, shooting 90% from the free throw line is exceptional. 90% gets you at least an A- in most classes. For a writer, having 90% of your bibliography be amazing is very worthy of praise. I still like Bardugo and consider her to be one of my favorite authors today. But this book is a notable miss for her.

  I've really been trying to diversify my reading, not just in terms of genre but in terms of format as well.  I've really delved into audiobooks recently and now I've read my first graphic novel.  I'm glad I did!    I think Persepolis is pretty perfect.  It tells the story of Marjane Satrapi as she grows up in war-torn Iran, studies abroad in Austria, returns to Iran before leaving her homeland once again.  Coming into this I thought graphic novels were relatively childish compared to novels but I think the format allows Satrapi to tell her story more effectively.  Even though this Persepolis is entirely in black and white, Satrapi manages to inject so much life into her illustrations and contrast each setting beautifully.  She fully takes advantage of her skill as a writer as well as her talent as an illustrator to make a comprehensive story that works on every level.  And I really mean that.  You can look at Persepolis as the story of two very different settings and cultures.  You can also look at it as one woman's coming-of-age story.  Or you can look at it as everything in between.  That's the beauty of Persepolis.  It doesn't fit into any one box.  It's funny.  It's depressing.  It's inquisitive.  It's stupid.  It's optimistic.  It's pessimistic.  It is all of these things and more and yet it never feels confused.  Satrapi deserves all the credit in the world for taking her remarkable life and putting it into a compact 330 pages (filled with pictures as well as words) without making anything feel rushed or incomplete.  Overall this is a fantastic first graphic novel for me and I look forward to trying out more. 

The Master of Disguise is a book that feels better than it actually is. While reading it I generally enjoyed it but the more I thought about it the less I liked it. The main reason for this disconnect is that upon reflection I’m not totally sure what it’s supposed to be simply because it’s not great at anything I can think of. Is it an inside look at intelligence operations during the Cold War? Kind of, except so much of what was used was still classified at the time of its writing, meaning so many details have to be left out. Is it a guy telling stories about his time in the CIA? You could say that, except it’s written in an extremely professional, dry manner that makes it hard to appreciate. Is it a memoir of a genuinely interesting guy who lived a fascinating life? Sort of, we only get bits and pieces about who Mendez is outside of the CIA and even then heavy periods of his CIA life are glossed over. As such it’s hard to really praise it when I can’t put my finger on what exactly I’d be praising it for.

There’s also the fact that this is a weird book to talk about simply because of what it is and when it was written: an insider account on American espionage during the Cold War published in 1999. As such, it’s a book that feels like a victory lap as America had defeated its greatest enemy two years before the nation’s collective conscience was completely shaken. Does that make this book an effective time capsule? Once again I can’t really say it’s that either because the book doesn’t evoke the feelings of the late 90s.

All that said, this book is a fun ride at points. It’s at its best when giving these little microdetails about certain declassified techniques. If the book was all that then it would be great. As such it’s really not that and for that reason I can’t really recommend it, even to someone who is interested in this topic.

 I am just completely infatuated by R.F. Kuang's writing at this point.  I really loved The Poppy War (this book's predecessor) as well as Babel (her standalone novel released earlier this year) so I had high expectations eading into this one.  Even then I was totally blown away by The Dragon Republic.    I've spoken before about how writing the second part of a trilogy can be tough because it lacks the excitement of a new beginning that the first part has while also missing the satisfaction of a conclusion that the third part has.  I've seen authors try to tackle this conundrum in a few ways but Kuang has done it in the simplest way possible: by writing an undeniably intriguing story.  The Dragon Republic expertly builds upon everything that was started in The Poppy War and expands it.     The characters here are excellent.  We have all of our old favorites in Rin, Kitay, the Cike etc while also adding the prominent figures behind each of Nikan's provinces.  The main one we are introduced to is Vaisra, leader of the Dragon province and Nezha's father.  He is just a blast to read here as this commanding, seductive figure.  Kuang deserves a lot of credit for writing the scenes between him and Rin with underlying sexual tension that feels so wrong and yet so desirable.  He's a big part of why this book is so good and I can't wait to see his role in the trilogy's conclusion.  I also want to shout out Nezha, who was introduced in the last book but is explored with much more complexity here.  He shines a lot in his role and elevates the book in a similar way to his dad.  If I were to say one reason why this book is so good it's these two.    I... honestly don't know what else to say at this point.  This isn't my favorite Kuang book but I do think it's her best that I've read up to now.  I'm sure she'll surpass herself with the conclusion to this trilogy.