Guga > Recent Status Updates

I want to preface this that I'm a big critic of organized religion (as well as the Abrahamic religions)...

I say that because I can appreciate a good critique of religion in fictional stories. But even then, I can't help but scoff when presented the way it's presented here.

Kristoff didn't even try being original, or nuanced. He straight up ripped off George Carlin quotes, some of them 1:1! Lecturing =! theme

Goodness, please, I'm actually suffering...

Only one of the POVs has become readable. Everyone else's perspective is devoid of any real tension. I'm very curious (and worried) about how this will end.

Reading the Metamorphosis for now and then will get to other stories soon. So far, not sure how to feel about it. I thought it'd be a more absurdist-oriented story but there's little of that and much faffing around.

There was a strange shift in the tone at one point when Bumbleby went all Hulk mode. Really came out of nowhere, I have to say.

I also must add that the story appears very meandering. I'm starting to lose interest in what happens to the secondary characters, and I'm unsure what to make of the relationship between Emily Wilde and Wendell Bumbleby

Very cool dragons. Plot is still glacial. Dialogue has improved. Prose is not bad. Some of the characters don't pique my interest that much. Solid 3/5 so far.

Solid so far.

I enjoy the prose, the setting, the way the Fae are, but as I slowly "zoom out" (as I usually do) during the middle part of the book, I realize how...conflict-less this book is. While things happen, they don't have long-lasting consequences.

Bambleby is a whiny little fellow, and I hope his character improves, lest I lose my patience with him. I still love the MC's narrative voice and her personality.

Eyeballing the page # since I'm using an ebook.

I'm really struggling and losing my patience. While the characters CAN be interesting to read about, I need a reason to care about them. They don't need to feed the plot directly, but I want to know what the plot is. As of now, I'm struggling to understand the point of most of these chapters. There's some hints of a war, but that's it! I hope it improves.

Interesting concept, looking forward to how it develops.

I love the prose, as it brings out the character's personality rather well.

Interesting world so far. Dialogue slightly stilted, but I'm enjoying that we have two POVs of female characters with some signs of agency. Lots of info dumps about customs, world history, cultures, and the like. I understand it's the start of the book so I'm willing to overlook that for now. Curious how this goes

I'm not sure why, but I kind of like it...

I mean, I see no reason as to why. Some of these characters are insufferable, but I still love learning more about others, like Kruppe and Quick Ben.

Some of the worldbuilding is confusing like baseball, but other parts of it intrigue me the same way Dark Souls lore does. It's hard to grasp, but so interesting to ponder on about.

Super conflicted.

I'm more of a character guy, and this book, though it has no shortage of them, doesn't have fantastic characterization. Not yet, at least.

Slooooooow start. Snarky, PG13 humor. Kind of...eh, revelations.

Not bad. Not extraordinary. But intriguing? Yes, somewhat.

I'm only reading this for college.

It's not as bad as I thought.

The parts with the virus affecting people are the best. The parts with the backstory paragraphs that take up a good chunk of pages are horrid.

It's getting somewhat better. The characters are very, VERY slowly growing on me. I can see some of the themes clearer, now that the confusion-fest is moving away. I desperately want to finish this book so I can move on to the improved sequels. Regardless of how it all turns out, I will have to finish this book series, even if I come to hate it. If I can get Platinum in Dark Souls 3, then this is nothing.

The same pattern emerges. The start of King’s biggest tale is very interesting, quick to the point, so quick that I wondered how he would stretch out this fast-paced start into a 1100 page novel. Then I reached the bits with the singer and his mother, and that pregnant daughter…a slog comes this way.

It’s a hard read because of how nonsensical it is so far. There is zero effort to make us care for the characters. There is zero effort to make the words flow well. Worldbuilding sure is epic and mythical-esque in some areas. But Idgaf.

So, we are nearly at the end. Just 115 more pages to go. Safe to say, that the fast-paced scenes are the best scenes. Brandon should stick to writing fast-paced books, because at least then, I can ignore the quality of writing. I have many things to say, and not a large audience to say it to, but I shall say these things, nonetheless, for I am scratching my head, wondering how this is a masterpiece.

I wanted to call out the worldbuilding of this book. Using the word "storms" and its handful variations doesn't mean the author has achieved a realistic world. Not to mention that the interesting bits of Roshar are briefly mentioned and never again shown. There's no effort to subtly show the world. Instead, we are told of everything. Cultures, gods, etc. Such a shame.

Not to mention how there is no attempt to connect with all these characters that we are given. Maybe the emphasis is world-building, and I can start to see that...it's just that there is a question that comes up: how can I care about a world, if the characters moving through it are not given emphasis? I don't care if Whiskeyjack dies, if...who else was it? I don't even know.

When people said this is a hard read, I assumed the language would be cryptic, purposefully misleading, subtle with its worldbuilding...but no...no, no, no. This is hard because it's not cohesively written, and I'm not talking about plot structure, because I don't mind when writers don't follow the traditional storytelling methods. This is just confusing because it is, not because it is profoundly complex yet.

Not a spoiler. Some more thoughts.

There could be so much more here, and so much less as well. These flashbacks could be cut away and turned into scenes with character action that showcases Kaladin's past instead of telling it, that showcases his nobility instead of dramatizing it within a scene that is so formulaically set up that you can actually see the frame holding it up.

Same thing here, spoilers.

Also, not SLIGHT spoilers; pardon me. I meant ACTUAL spoilers. But...come on, you knew that.

We're supposed to feel bad for Kaladin because of his past, and good because of his nobility, since he didn't take a Shardblade. For me, it would have been better if he had taken it, or at least had the temptation...you know...like all humans do. *Sigh*. This is taking too long.

Do be warned, there is a slight spoiler...

Got it? Okay, good.

Shallan's sudden poisoning was sudden and unnecessary, as it came literally out of nowhere. I don't know if I missed a hint that this would happen, but it did. Personally, I feel like it is a way to just make the last pages of this unbearable slog a bit bearable, and I'm glad that SOMETHING is happening, even if it's kind of sudden.

Now then...boy, am I severely annoyed...

Yes, yes, worldbuilding and magic are detailed, extravagant, and well-made, yes, I understand, and I would be a fool if I didn't acknowledge that.

What about the characters? The dialogue? Or...better yet...the story? God...I will rip this book to shreds if I see another flashback. My God...in short, very annoyed, and I will elaborate in a review.

Having reached the prelude to the middle, I must say that while Roshar is an interesting world, the prose describing it is blander than white bread. There is no effort to be subtle. Why not hide Szeth’s identity and let us connect the dots? This book would have benefited from a lack of hand-holding.

Very bad. Wow, I’m appalled, truly. The Felurian bit was actually pretty interesting; I didn’t hate the sex. What I hated, and still do, is the lack of...well, Chandrian? Cinder? And don’t tell me that the bandit leader was technically Cinder’s grand return, because that was insultingly bad. Then you have the hints, by God, are they obvious and annoying to think of. This book is way worse than NOTW.

The Wise Man’s Tangent. A book that disregards the foundation laid by its predecessor. A book whose meandering nature I had been willing to forgive initially, but came to hold in contempt now. This is a very rough middle, in case you haven’t noticed.

...well, what to say? Easy to digest prose; hard to follow story. Denna is getting more annoying, even though I liked her. It is taking too much time to get to the damn point. I feel as though you could take all these nice hints and place them into the actual Chandrian story instead of taking us to places we care not of. And by you, I mean Pat. Such a shame...