Emily

loved it. it was a little slow to get going, despite the writing being really lovely without being too florid or ornate and the characters being super interesting, but it wasn't until after around chapter 10 when the happenings in the world really began to take shape, and after chapter 17 when i became wholly emotionally invested in Fitz. but once i was, whoo boy was i ever emotionally involved :'(

I was so happy to be able to revisit Mid-world with this book. The story, within a story, within a story structure was interesting, and each tale was entertaining. King got a little sappy about the role of story in our lives, but otherwise, it was a great little read.

The writing was fine, good even (though not anywhere near King's best), but the characters were very shallowly drawn, and the heart of the story was an old guy saving the lesbian couple in town from anti-gay animus. It felt very straight male Savior.

And then there was a tiny, unrelated short story about an old guy and his dog and an alligator tacked onto the back of it? I am so completely befuddled, I do not understand what this is or why it was published as a standalone work.

i loved it, but it is probably the weakest of the three, only because it is a journeying tale and those by their nature can be a bit monotonous and slow. it picked up in the very end though, holy shit, i was a little disappointed that the end of the red ships was told in hindsight in like 3 paragraphs. i loved loved loved the way it went down with carrod, then burl, and then will and regal. hell yeah fist pumping good good good. the very last bit, where fitz puts his quill aside and narrates his current life, i have to be honest, i was super surprised to learn he was still a young man, all through books 1 and 2, and 95% through this book, i had pictured him as old as chade, back bent over his desk, eyes cloudy with age and memory. but he's like yeah, just a few years have passed (!!!)

It was harrowing, as expected, but not without stories of courage and defiance. It had been in my to-read pile for ages and I'm very glad I've read it, it's a history that deserves to be known and remembered especially because of how hard people want to forget