M. > Recent Status Updates

Man, I am giving this book a chance, but I don't think this author is succeeding in their goal.

Also, if you're intersted by the title, read the description first before reading the book. It's completely different from what the cover and title suggest.

You know how when people climb Mount Everest and they're nearly at the top, but then they quickly learn they are at the most strenuous and dangerous part of the journey?

That's me. Only it's the first of the two epilogues. We get left on a character cliffhangar to experience essays by Tolstoy on Great Person history theory, determinism, and weird analogies about clocks, rams, and bees.

Wish the best for me.

I am about a quarter of the way through this book and am not impressed. I appreciate what it's trying to do, but it's not to my taste.

This book is marketed as adult *and* won a Hugo? I expect things out of that. I expect more than YA level writing and a world that can't hold a basic level of verisimilitude under scrutiny.

Probably going to DNF.

Finished the Battle of Borodino. War is appropriately visceral and sad in this book.

I am officially in the part of the book that the musical is about.

Hope Anatole dies horribly!

Doing Dracula daily, which starts today, May 3rd, if anyone wants to join.

I'm about halfway through. I hate all but 1 person, and I'm not sure this world building is done well enough to sustain me.

It is a mercifully short book, though, so I will try to soldier on.

I will say, I keep comparing this to "Daughters of the Vast Black." If the themes of Escaping Exodus intrigues you, just read that instead.

I just had the distinct thought that I think everyone in this book is just outright cruel with no apparent purpose. And it's worse because I think the author wanted me to like them.

Im not sure I'll like or finish this.

Finished book 6.

I love how people are changing and growing and other people are right where they started.

Finished part 5.

This is shaping up to me one of my all-time favorites.

Finished book 3.

This book iss beautifully written. I love how characters change to adversity. I also love how others don't change but get bowled over by stronger forces.

I love the interactions between General Kutuzov and the (young) Emporer.

I want to see what happens next to Pierre and Marya.

Overall, it's just a great experience reading this.

End of book 2.

Lot of new names, and I will not remember all of them. Still, a lot of new people I will remember.

I absolutely needed maps but didn't have them in theoxford annotated edition.

The war was very realistic. If you are worried it's been glorified, you need not worry any longer. War in this book is a messy, bloody, horrible monstrosity.

Book 1 finished.

Love it so far. It's got everything. Real humans that sometimes are great, sometimes terrible, sometimes funny, sometimes charming, sometimes insufferable. It's got family drama. It's got a man tying a bear to a cop and throwing them in a river.

Now, from the peace and onto the war.

I already dont care about the main character.

Also, can Katherine Arden stop the main character at anyone vaguely man shaped?

Oh no. I was told, "This is a book about women nurses during the Vietnam war."

I assumed that meant nonfiction.

It is not nonfiction.

I dont think I will like this, but I waited 4 months on library hold, so I'll try the whole thing.

I started the second book and realized I had remembered jack all about the first one so I'm rereading it.

What I remember is that it had excellent world building but poor plot and characters and I hope to see if the second book improves on that point.