Sudden Death

This book broke something in my brain (maybe in a good way?) and it has some of the most beautiful and haunting prose I've ever written. But I constantly wanted to quit reading throughout the first half, which I can only describe as constant confusion.

It's the longest I've taken to read a book in my adult life (without DNFing) and every time I tried to stop reading, the writing and storytelling drew me back in.

Sudden Death kind of defies summary and it's impossible to describe. Around the 50% mark, the book started to come together (as much as it can) and speed up — I found it a lot more engaging as some of the threads began to weave together. The ideas and perspectives were fascinating and I really admire both the author and the translator's ways with words.

Despite what a deeply confusing time I had, I do plan to read You Dreamed of Empires!