Jake > Recent Status Updates

This book is excellent, but I don’t nearly have the vocabulary for it. I was looking up a word every single sentence so I had to give up.

I agree that the colonies were so dependent on slavery that Britain moving towards abolition was the main cause for revolution. In this light, US independence was NOT progress. The context of Spain’s influence in Florida and the Caribbean and the slave resistance was helpful.

The Malazans are balls deep in a covert invasion of the Lether Empire and have finally realized that the Letherii aren’t “subjects” to Edur rule. The Letherii capitalist system hasn’t been upended, so their material conditions are wholly unaffected. The Malazan POV’s read like Vietnam war fan fic with all our best friends from the last several books. So fucking sick. Give me 1200 more pages of this shit.

Questioning the nature of power and how it manifests. The dynamics of naivety, fanaticism, moral relativism, and how the structures of a society influence the views and practices of those living under it. And, most poignant to me, assessing whether it’s more virtuous to pursue clarity in your worldview, or embrace your cognitive dissonances.

Life keeps pulling me away from reading this, but it’s incredible. I’m so glad I went into THAT chapter completely unaware of its infamy. Steve has taken so many big risks, structurally, throughout this series and this book is no exception.

Back in the best setting in fantasy with all my best friends. I take it all back regarding Scillara’s character. Steve’s representation of women and their unique struggles under colonialism is harrowing, nearly 20 years before we would go on to lose reproductive protections in the US.

Tons of evocative imagery and tone to set the stage for a story more focused on political drama than any so far. This is balanced with loads of levity in writing such rich characters that flesh out two very different peoples and their sociopolitical systems. Steve’s writing gets better with each book.

Spending 300 pages solely in the POV of a character whose first stated motivation is slaughtering children is fucking bonkers. The way Karsa’s identity and perception of the world is constantly challenged is delightful. I don’t have enough words to address even just this first section.

still super good. extremely heavy subject matter. there’s heartbreaking moment after heartbreaking moment, but it’s so well written i never want to put it down. unfortunately life is in the way so im gonna have to get back to it soon.

Steve just keeps busting out heaters dawg. That prologue was insane. Talk about establishing a tone, immediately endearing us to your characters, and providing an instant hook to relate us to where we fit in relation to the last book, despite having almost nothing to do with it. Just incredible stuff so far

Reading reviews made me nervous to start this, but after reading the first scene, I was already sold.

This is such a dense read. There are layers to every scene, the dialogue is sharp, and you’re fed exactly enough information. I’ve used the Dramatis Personae excessively and have re-read most of the text so far. I can tell already that this is something special.

There’s a million things to love so far, but one I haven’t seen mentioned yet is how beautiful the contrast is between all the father figures throughout the series. Lirin, Dalinar, Neturo, Gavilar, Elokhar, and Lin are all portrayed in distinct, incredible ways. Shallan killing all of the father figures in her life leading to her confronting Mraize is perfect.

Every single chapter has been great so far. Szeth is a standout, especially picking up Venli/Eshonai’s slack from Rhythm of War with some banger flashback chapters. I have so many questions about so many things. If things keep on like this, this might be the best Stormlight book.

Being in 10 parts instead of 5 makes the interludes pace better too.

Super good🫡