serfraser
Lovely story, fantastically unconventional main character, some really memorable one liners and insightful quotes, plus a cool villain.
That said I found the pacing a bit off - plot and character development fight for breathing room leaving certain parts one note (supporting cast) or rushed (the romance).
Still a sweet book, very enjoyable.
People say there's a dramatic improvement here after book one. I sure hope so. I wasn't expecting much, and sadly I'm still unimpressed. This reads like an early draft with lots of potential but fundamentally unpolished in the basics - character, structure, dialogue, etc.
A lot of the old Fantasy tropes are being dusted off in this one, but nothing really novel is done with them. Just formula, tried and tired. That might be what you're after (I love comfort food books too) but to me this was never engaging enough to justify the empty calories.
On the positives, it was perfectly readable, minimal spelling or grammar issues. I even enjoyed the slow build up to start, but then it became a slow middle, then a rushed ending. Now I'm still hoping the next book is better, but it's gonna have to be much better.
Can confirm, it's an Elric book. As I'm re-reading them in chronological order after many many years I'm basically rediscovering what that means. So far it's basically hauty, gothy sword and sorcery that's maybe a little po-faced but overall they're quick and easy reads.
This one starts a little muddled with all the Eternal Champion stuff not doing much for me, but things pick up as the focus turns back to Elric getting himself into yet another jaunt across time and space. Nothing super memorable, but if you like an Elric book you'll probably enjoy this one.
I loved The Book of Three. I thought it was clever, sweet, and a playful take on the hero's journey. The cast were fun and had great chemistry together. Overall a classic that lived up to its reputation.
I did not particularly enjoy The Black Cauldron. A dull plot without much going for it (the witches were okay but their part was brief), which I could totally forgive if the cast stayed entertaining.
Unfortunately everyone has become a dull shadow of themselves, and none of the newcomers bring much to the table. All the fun it seems had to bow out to leave more room on the page for Taran to sulk and tediously butt heads with Generic Smug Prince Ellidyr.
No great rush to read the next one, which is a shame, as I hear book four mentioned all the time as especially good.
Judge Sherlock Dredd Holmes doesn't do as much detecting in this one which I found to be a shame. What we get is still a bunch of moody fun, but there's a heavier focus on the big picture, war and questing and stuff, that I don't think allows this premise to shine as brightly as it did in book one.
There's still plenty of dirty deeds - corruption, combat, and demon dodging - and it's still fairly well done (though I could do without the constant interjections from the narrator looking back on the story with useless foreshadowing about how wrong she was, how much worse things would get, etc. Stop undercutting the tension, Helena!)
I just wish this series had more Witcher style self-contained short stories about Sir Conrad's justicing (just icing?) around the fringes of society. It's a great premise in a spooky world with a fun cast, I would happily follow along to them roaming about solving murders and mysteries like a Witchfinder Scooby Gang.
Riding in on a wave of hype in Sword & Sorcery circles, this book still managed to exceed my expectations. Easily my favourite read in a (for me) very full year, this book deserves much wider recognition by Fantasy fans and beyond. Old school yet defiantly modern, in a single debut Hanuvar for me has earned himself and his author a spot among the greats of the genre.
At first the Girl Interrupted in Wonderland vibe was working for me, but it quickly stalls into a lazy slasher plot with a cast of stick figures shrugging off multiple deaths like nothing matters.
I think the novella format works against this story a lot. Any good ideas go undeveloped, while the tedious Nonsense/Logic stuff robs the world building of all mystique.
Time is barely spent building atmosphere or suspense, making the shift into slasher tropes pretty jarring, and the timeline is so compressed there's just no room to breathe when the plot kicks in. Or to care.
Went into this one hoping for Judge Dredd meets Sherlock Holmes but with swords. Asking a lot, but it pretty much delivers. Solid 1st person prose from the Watson POV, lots of intrigue and shady goings on plus a decent amount of action. Good worldbuilding with plenty of teases and hints to a larger story.
If anything that's my only complaint. The actual murder mystery central to this book is the least developed and thus least interesting part. Still, very good start to a series, lots of promise, will definitely keep going.
Fun spin on fantasy/mystery that packs a lot of different threads into one plot. Partly because of that some parts of the story and supporting cast felt underdeveloped, the focus shifting a lot as the novel goes on. I still really enjoyed it, just following the likeable main character through his various trials made this an easy read with lots of set up for potential sequels.
More focused than the main series, with all the classic Malazan flavours reduced down to a fine gravy. Great banter, blockbuster set pieces, rock star gods, and big meandering dollops of philosophical pondering. Your mileage will vary on that last point but for me it didn't slow things down by a distracting amount.
Erikson is fearless as a writer and he does a lot here to admire. Prose and plot are nice and sharp, and the mostly all-new cast grow on you quick, as usual in Malazan books. The story explores pretty bleak subject matter (again as usual, but in this case it really does go wading in some very murky depths), and death is never far from the page.
But as with the other books things aren't exclusively grimdark, always being tempered by the hallmark compassion and levity so obviously important to the author. Whether the moment calls for a sombre, introspective monologue about mortality or a quick and dirty dick joke, Steve knows the score.
If you're a Malazan fan, you'll probably love this. If you're not a Malazan fan this book isn't going to try and change your mind. “Poor you,” Stillwater would say.
Contrary to a lot of opinions I see on this book, it's by far my favourite of the series, and I sincerely enjoyed every bit, having no issue with the plot or pacing issues that others seem to have. In particular there is some especially creative and beautiful swearing in this book and I applaud the author for his f'n efforts.
No spoilers but there's a twist revealed at the end too which also seems to catch a lot of flack but I honestly didn't mind it at all. It's just a shame we've had to go so long between installments to see where the story is going because I'm still fully invested in Locke and Jean.