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So far it feels like proto-Small Gods meets Hitchhiker's Guide:
• Dios reads like Vorbis
• first half is amusing with some legit laugh out loud moments
• 3rd quarter is a mess, again like Hitchhiker's but not in a good way
• overall it feels a bit incoherent like first two Discworld books

Arc Sumpit Merah ini seru juga. Tapi agak terganggu dengan nama Mandarin dan Hokkien yang campuraduk penggunaannya. Agak aneh juga melihat masakan Tiongkok Daratan yang diolah pakai mentega/dairy

Kesimpulan sejauh ini: Raden Mandasia lebih kocak, tapi Pengantin2 Loki Tua lebih fokus di masakan dan makanan

Buset bikin ngiler baca buku ini. Bahaya, bahaya

Welp suddenly it gets dark

Sebenarnya tema-tema yang dibangun sangat menarik, tentang bagaimana entitas luar dan asing (Arumbawangi, ulat, pipit, hotel) dianggap hama yang merusak sebuah tatanan yang sudah serasi.

Sayang ketika karakter Jojo dikenalkan, mendadak jadi ada banjir referensi pop culture yang mengganggu imaji pedesaan Bali dan membuyarkan imersi. Mungkin ini authorial intent?

Don't read this book with an empty stomach. At least make sure you've got some access to snacks. Also for some reason this book is so visual. I can watch quite a vivid dorama in my head while reading this

This one feels less meandering than usual, but at times it still feels aimless with a lot of tangents.

Sons of Valia subplot is pretty interesting but when introduced in book 4 it reads as a bit shoehorned.

Corin's progression & combat style are also a bit all over the place as he scrambles to craft stuff by reacting or anticipating enemies. I think in progression fantasy you need some semblance of specialisation

Bloody hell, that got super dark real quick

Last time I was this livid, disgusted, sick, and shaken when reading SFF was when I read about node maintainers in The Fifth Season and maybe the hobbling in Dust of Dreams

Wow, it's been hella compelling so far! M.L. Wang is one hell of a writer

• hard magic system that also reads like science and theology, relevant to the plot, world, characters, themes
• sweet and spicy dialogues that border on heresy
• intersection of feminism and colonialism via flawed characters

I just still wish it has more secondary world urban fantasy aspects to it, I want to see more Tiran!

Yeah, apparently, I really can't get myself invested in the whole Fithean war/Asplundat Movement subplot. There are not enough interesting worldbuilding/lore bits in this part of Nine Worlds, especially knowing there are more interesting things happening in Ichil, Aathal, and Arbai. We also haven't seen a lot of Siata.

This is the most The Brightest Shadow/wuxia entry of Weirkey so far. Dastardly poison strategy. Bigger players popping into the battlefield. Honour battles. Factions. All the good stuff. Hopefully there will be a rooftop fight at some point later.

It's been a while since the last time I blazed through the pages of a book like this. This is the most unputdownable instalment of Weirkey by far.

• it's refreshing to see the characters travel a lot, to old and new locations, sith clear purposes relevant to the main plot
• the MacGuffins from previous books are getting relevant here
• in general it's so diverse but feels so coherent

So bonkers so far. While Jade City was quite intimate, Jade War scales up the stakes into a dizzying geopolitical tangle, in a really, really great way. Seeing how the cast grows and responds to the growing stakes is quite interesting.

Another interesting note is the exploration of national and diaspora identity, especially with Kekonese-Espenians, and how other cultures utilise jade.

So far so good. It is among the best paced books I've ever read. Fonda Lee is a master of keeping tension, while sprinkling the pace with almost slice of life bits. There's a bit of over-telling but even the infodumps are interesting.

Chapter 25: something about this chapter just resonates with me. Kaladin's struggle and pulling someone out of the darkness of depression and isolation, finding new purpose, mental health treatments, etc.

It just hits the right notes for me.

The Venli & Leshwi sections are absolute amazeballs. The Singers/Listeners lore is a treat for worldbuilding freaks like me.

Corban's story's a bit meh

Veradis' and Kastell's are slightly more interesting

I can't put this book down for some reasons though, it's a real page turner

Welp the entire Trifecta subplot turns out to be a red herring apparently. Super meh .

I swear to god if this doesn't end with Rin burning half the world I would rate this book a bloody one star. Her getting outsmarted, betrayed, and caught while being powerless is getting awfully boring.

The fact that Rin kept failing to deliver satisfying revenge or at least a fatal, killing blow to the right revenge targets makes this series absolutely frustrating to read 😡😡😡

This book single-handedly threw me to 2-month reading rut.

The plot itself is great and I find the river military campaign fascinating. However, it follows conventional grimdark trope where shitty people being constantly shitty to each other. It's doubly frustrating since Rin's hands are constantly tied so she simply keeps reacting (or not reacting) to circumstances around her.

Ugh I know the weird naming convention is coming but I find it super jarring anyway.

Imagine if your MC is a farm boy named John who was raised with his foster brother Diego in their native fantasy kingdom Albion. John went to the Albion capital, Qinglong to study at a military school. There he met a spoiled rich boy Arthur Pendragon.

It’s so bizarre and all over the place.