#book I’m reading keeps switching characters perspectives on cliffhangers.

[plutotheforgotten]

Unpopular opinion: I love spoilers! I love knowing what’s gonna happen in stories I read. It’s literally so stressful watching or reading something when I have no idea what’s gonna happen.

[dwellordream]

A Six of Crows Review: Joost and Inej I

This marks the beginning of my review of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Before I go any further, I want to provide context for my experience/knowledge of the book and its fandom. Six of Crows was published in 2015 when I was 16. I picked it up in a bookstore and read the first few chapters idly while shopping, before putting it back down.

At the time, my dislike of what I’d read was probably primarily fueled by the realization that it was by the same author as Shadow and Bone, which I had tried to read a few years before and disliked, and because at the time I was aging out of the YA genre in general and had very little patience for many of its familiar tropes.

In recent years, Six of Crows and its companion and predecessor series, the Grisha Trilogy, have become one of the most popular YA series online. The avid fan response and promotion of it on social media no doubt led to the Netflix series being greenlit and it is obviously trending at present due to the success of the series. With all that in mind, I’ve decided to try Six of Crows again and see for myself what all the hype is about.

Some more caveats: I am 22 years old. I am aware Six of Crows is YA literature intended for a middle and high school audience. I will not be holding it to the standards I would hold an adult grade fantasy book, in terms of prose, themes, or content. I am aware that I am not necessarily the target audience for the book and these reviews are in no way intended to shame or disparage anyone who enjoys the book.

Criticism is a healthy part of any fandom and does not necessarily constitute hate. I will likely critique elements of the book in my write up. That does not mean I have a personal vendetta against the author, publishers, or the TV show. Please do not take this as a personal attack if you’ve enjoyed the book. This is just intended to promote discussion and to gather my own thoughts.

If you follow me, I am tagging this as ‘in review’ so you know what to block if you don’t want to see my posts on your dash. I will be going through 1-2 chapters per weekend. This weekend I will be looking at the prologue, aka Joost, and the first Inej chapter.

Jumping into things, here is Joost:

The prologue is our introduction to Ketterdam, the setting of Six of Crows. It’s been a very long time since I read Shadow and Bone and so all I really know is that Ketterdam is a city in an island known as Kerch, based off the map. The major countries or kingdoms of the mainland to the east appear to be Fjerda, Ravka, and Shu Han, though it is unclear how they differ from one another at this point.

Ketterdam through Joost’s eyes is a sinister and dreary place, a city under a grimy night sky and full of dangers. Joost works as a hired guard for a very wealthy man named Hoede, who keeps grishas, powerful magic users, as indentured servants. Joost is infatuated with one of them, Anya, a healer, though he knows she is not likely to return his affections and furthermore cannot wed without the permission of her owner. We also learn that grishas are at risk for being kidnapped and sold by slavers due to their value. However, the indentured servant system of Ketterdam thus far doesn’t seem to be much better than slavery, given how little freedom the grisha have.

Overall, the prologue is supposed to give us a sense for the setting of Ketterdam and interest us in the main hook of the novel, which seems to be a mysterious substance that grisha can ingest to heighten their powers for the benefit of their masters, though it has the risks of making them uncontrollable. How well is this done?

Through Joost’s perspective we can glean several things; Ketterdam is a dirty city with rampant income inequality, full of crime and corruption. Magic is an established system within Ketterdam, but the magic users do not seem to be at the type of the hierarchy despite their powers, which suggests they are a minority to the extent of which they can still be controlled by the elite class of non magic users, if they have enough money and power.

It is also very obvious through the references in the prologue that Ketterdam is heavily based off the Netherlands during the Golden Age, which was Amsterdam’s (Ketterdam… Amsterdam… not subtle) economic and cultural boom during the 17th century, aka the 1600s. Notably the world’s first stock exchange began in Amsterdam in 1602, and it was a major port and trading hub for the Dutch East and Dutch West India Companies.

It is not clear if Ketterdam is also intended to be a 1600s-esque society, timeline wise, but we know that rifles are common place and there is a thriving merchant class who rule as opposed to old aristocracy, which seems to indicate a Renaissance style setting, as well as the urban environment in general. (That said, from the advertisements for the Netflix show, they seem to have updated it to a more Victorian-era 1800s society, in terms of fashion and general aesthetics).

Overall, the prologue does its job. It gives us a vague idea of what Ketterdam is like, how the society is structured, and who holds the power. It also ends on a suspenseful cliffhanger, leaving Joost’s fate unclear. Where it falls flat is that I think a little more time could have been spent fleshing out Joost as a narrator, even if this is his only showing in the book.

His internal monologue comes across as a bit dry and mechanical, as if the author is aware he is just a means to an end to start the book off with a bang, and he quickly turns into a walking camera (just there to report events to the reader, with no internal input from him), for the second half of the prologue, as we switch to just watching Anya and Hoede through his eyes. That said, it’s not a major problem, as Joost is clearly not intended to be a main character, and his narration still effectively conveys what is happening and sets the dark tone of the novel.

What I would have liked to see from the prologue is perhaps the POV of Anya herself, or the small child she is being forced to experiment on, as that might have been a more compelling and immerse introduction to Ketterdam and its dangers rather than the fairly bland and neutral Joost, who doesn’t really feel like a character so much as a bland stand-in for the reader. If we were put in the shoes of Anya, suddenly called upon by her power hungry employer to participate in this unethical test, or in the shoes of the small boy caught up in the middle of this, it might have been both more thrilling to read and given a more gritty sense of what it’s like to be on the lowest rungs of Ketterdam’s society, at the mercy of the most powerful.

Moving onto Inej, we run into some similar problems. After Inej’s first chapter, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about her, other than that she was an acrobat as a child, that she is part of the street gang known as the Dregs, and that she intensely values loyalty. This isn’t a problem, per say, but while that’s all good to know, it doesn’t give me any sense of Inej’s actual personality, which doesn’t exactly bode well. Like Joost, she comes across more as a walking camera and occasional tourist guide as opposed to a human character with her own worries, hopes, and fears.

I think this may become a recurring problem with Bardugo’s writing - ie all tell, no show. Inej is good at telling things. She tells us where we are as we follow her to the location of a stand-off between rival gangs, she tells us that Kaz, their leader ‘doesn’t need a reason’, though she never exactly explains what that means other than that he is widely feared, she tells us that she is very fond of her knives.

But in terms of writing, we shouldn’t have to be force fed all this information via her internal monologue, which, again, entirely cuts out once the action picks up, just like Joost’s. While I don’t need her thoughts on every threat or gunshot, it would be nice to feel as if she hadn’t just vanished from the story completely as soon as the dialogue starts.

We also meet Kaz and Jesper, though I couldn’t tell you much about them utter than that Inej clearly admires, even venerates Kaz as an accomplished intimidator and chess master, and that Jesper is clearly the joker of the group.

It also feels incredibly weird that this parley between gangs in happening in front of the city’s stock exchange. Inej tells us this is because the Exchange is one of the few remaining neutral territories, but it’s also heavily guarded, which means every time a gang wants to parley, they have to pay out the cash to bribe all the guards to very pointedly ignore a meeting between rambunctious and trigger happy street gangsters on their literal doorstep.

I understand why Bardugo chose this location, wanting to contrast the violence of the gang members with the economic injustice that the Exchange and its merchant rulers represents, but it just seems a bit silly. They couldn’t meet at the docks? In an alley way? This is like picturing the American Mafia hosting a public meeting at the New York Stock Exchange with a bunch of cops twiddling their thumbs nearby.

The foreshadowing that Bollinger is the traitor (‘I’m not going to bet on my own death’) also seems very heavy handed and a little much, but I’ll let it slide.

It’s also not really clear while Inej is present at this meeting in the first place. Kaz commands her to keep watch from above, but he has also put a contingency plan in place that doesn’t even involve her, having bought out some of Geels’ men from under him. Why put Inej looking down from above if you’re not involving her in this plan? Her only role seems to be to watch, and she doesn’t even have a gun she could play sniper with. It just seems like a hamfisted way of getting Inej out of the danger zone so the author can have her as a passive spectator to the violence that follows.

This is my main problem with this chapter. It’s supposed to introduce us to Inej, but really, it’s introducing us to Kaz. Which is fine, but as he also has a POV in this book, it seems a bit lame that her own chapter is completely overtaken by showing off A. his smarts and B. how dangerous he is, despite being dismissed as a young ‘cripple’ by the likes of Geels.

Geels is also… not a greatly done villain. I get that he’s supposed to be small fry and is just a precursor to much more threatening opponents, but his every line of dialogue feels designed to show off how cool and Machiavellian Kaz is in comparison. He doesn’t seem like an actual hardened criminal who has underestimated his opponent, but a somewhat cheesy cartoon thug who unironically says things like “How are you going to wriggle your way out of this one?” with his full chest. The effect is comical, and not in a good way.

This chapter also shows off Kaz’s sadistic side in full display, which is probably one of the only interesting things about it, though it would be nice if we got any input at all from Inej on this… instead she completely vanishes from her own narration, to the point where she might as well not be present at all. Kaz has no qualms about tracking down his enemies’ weakness, such as lovers and family, and threatening them.

But the open horror and shock Geels reacts with seems incongruent, as if Kaz were the first up and coming gangster to actually consider threatening someone’s family or girlfriend. That seems pretty par for the course for violent criminals trying to claim territory and unnerve their rivals, yet Inej and Geels himself react as if no one had ever thought of sinking to the level of ‘do what I want or I’ll kill your loved ones’ until Kaz invented it. It just feels a bit silly and on the nose.

Really, my overarching issue with this chapter is that it’s not about Inej at all, it’s just an introduction to the Kaz Brekker fan club. I don’t automatically hate Kaz as a character, but his introduction is heavyhanded and comes at the cost of any establishing character moments for Inej. The most we get out of her is her brief pangs of sympathy for Bollinger despite his treachery, and her brief reference to her childhood. Maybe future Inej chapters will totally change this, but right now, it’s not a great sign of what’s to come.

I can think of about a hundred things Inej could have done or said this chapter to develop or establish her personality at all, but all we got was her briefly holding a knife to someone, and her briefly saying a prayer for Bollinger. I think it would have worked much better had this plan to catch Geels with his pants down been Inej’s invention or at least worked out between her and Kaz, rather than her just there to play lookout and admire how cool Kaz is.

Or at the very least, we could have seen the scene referenced where she searches the crime scene of the assassination, instead of that getting two lines and an entire chapter being devoted to what boils down to a pissing contest over which gangs gets rights to a certain neighborhood.

Next week, we will look at Kaz I.

[rigelmejo]

march 3/15/2021

im trying to read through tae kim’s grammar guide right now because i’m officially further in the nukemarine LLJ  memrise decks (there’s tae kim grammar guide sections in there) than i am in actually reading the grammar guide. And obviously these example sentences in the memrise deck would teach me more if i CLEARLY understood why they’re like how they are. which i... need to read the grammar guide section to understand lol.

my goal rn with japanese is? to get further in the nukemarine LLJ decks than i did last time. I’ve already mildly accomplished that (have done officially MORE of the tae kim section than before, have NOT redone the 190 common words i did last time i did this though). there are about 400 more cards in this tae kim section (LLJ 4) and then 1000ish cards in the common word section (LLJ 5). I would love to get them done. 

it would be sweet if i could get them done before April 22?/24? whenever Nier Replicant comes out because then I could play that baby in english and japanese! Then Nier Automata! ToT The Entire thing that kicked me back into wanting to study japanese was my old love for certain video games and desperately wanting to know what their stories/characters are like before translation/localization. So it would be cool if I could play them a little ;-; or at least check out lets plays. 

(which, checking out the kh2 lets play has been going pretty well so far... also that part where namine says “we aren’t meant to exist” and roxas says “how could you say such a thing? even if it were true” he says in japanese like “thats brutal/harsh to say. even if its true.” ...great to know that line is equally raw and heartbreaking in japanese lol. KH2′s localization did real good on like equal vibe to original just like ‘less nuanced’ if that makes sense. also thanks to the chinese hanzi i know now watching the KH2 lets play means i can figure out a lot of noun’s writing even though i don’t catch the pronunciation... also i’m catching a lot of words that mean like ‘beautiful/good’ as in like ‘great move’ and ‘dang’ lol.)

i had to stop myself from redoing the chinese flashcards i’ve done in the past! because i get ‘into a zone’ lol. And i really don’t need to waste time redoing those 2000 cards. i also needed to stop myself from doing the hsk 5-6 cards. because realistically? i know half of them, i should just set a lot to ‘ignore’ on the computer but im too lazy, and i’m learning a lot of vocab from reading right now. i don’t need hsk words to pass any test. The words i’m learning right now in reading are a lot more applicable to the actual shows i watch/things i listen to/things i read. its more useful to me to keep reading. and also to not sidetrack my japanese lol. i have read... 39 chapters this month... this month is only half over! hanshe is truly motivating ToT it also helps the story CONSTANTLY ends on cliffhangers so i keep clicking next chapter. who knows, maybe hanshe will help me kick up my reading speed. it already shaved off 10 minutes per 20 pages - now my 20 pages are down to 30 minutes to read, which is better than a few months ago. hanshe has 155 chapters so i HOPE it speeds up my reading lol.

hanshe is increasing my vocab though, its definitely noticeable over time. and hanshe has really good repetition of vocab which helps with learning and later the payoff means i never have to look up the word in future once its learned while it remains useful to me and i keep being reminded of it. after i get bored of hanshe OR i finish it, whichever comes first, its either back to a priest novel or into another pingxie fanfic written by hanshe’s author. The author did one fanfic that’s only 33 chapters so that would be NICE to do after this one lol ToT

summary of what’s turned out to be my studying methods this month:

Japanese:

reading through grammar guides (the one yue-muffin made and tae kim’s). so just grammar explanation reading.

doing nukemarine LLJ decks (in the ACTUAL order they are in the deck to completion - last time i did like 3 per time and never finished any lol. this is bolded because it’s the primary activity i’m prioritizing). so SRS flashcards. it’s working well right now because i can just put this activity in anytime i have downtime, like when i pause shows (since we know me i gotta take a break from a show every 20 minutes lol). i am bafflingly in a flashcard mood and i’m trying to take advantage of it while i got it. 

*when i feel like it: watching kh2 lets play. so some immersion where i look up words. (and when Nier Replicant remaster releases next month I’m likely to at least a tiny bit try to play it in japanese ToT lol we’ll see)

so grammar reading, srs flashcards covering some grammar/listening/reading/vocab, and some optional immersion.

(a note: i gave up on the japaneseaudiolessons for now because i got bored. its a great resource! i just don’t feel like it right now. and from an efficiency perspective, nukemarine LLJ decks cover vocab, grammar, audio, reading - so I don’t need another resource for that right now).

Chinese:

reading through hanshe. so immersion reading, intensive reading looking up unknown words. (unknown words are happening less so its getting less ‘intense’ lol)

listening to Chinese Spoonfed Audio. so listening to audio flashcards. for building up listening comprehension/repetition to pick up some more common words. (i’ve been doing this during daily walks making it much easier for me to consistently do, doing it mainly to supplement the Reading Heavy study i’m doing, i can drop this and pick it up later if i want since its mostly easy background listening)

*I am slowly rereading the grammar guide on www.chinese-grammar.com for explicit grammar clarification. but this is not a high priority, since I sort of implicitly understand a lot of this and i’m not working on fixing production mistakes yet. i just... miss knowing wtf is going on in the grammar lol.

*when i feel like it: Listening Reading The Glass Maiden/Love and Redemption Novel. I’ve done 2-3 hours of it this past week, but i don’t know when or if I’ll just stop. Thankfully l-r is beneficial somewhat even if i switch up books later. i WANT to L-R you have no idea (to Silent Reading and Guardian REALLY badly lol). But its so time intensive, and requires a lot of focus, and i have to really plan to do it for an hour at a time usually. I am so bad at doing stuff for that long consistently. I was in the mood earlier this week! ToT 

*when i feel like it: watching chinese shows raw. I was super in the mood this month because Word of Honor came out, and Killer and Healer came out, and Rattan came out, and I didn’t want to wait for subs. As a result I watched a LOT of raw episodes this month. However, english subs have caught up and since I’m lazy I’m inclined to just watch the subs - especially since youku ITSELF just put english subs on their most-ahead viewing schedule version of the eps on youku vip. so guess who’s buying youuku vip today? -3-)/ That said... even if I stop for a while, if Rattan subs move too slow I’ll probably watch those raw. And as SOON as 2ha’s drama Immortality drops I am highly likely to watch the raws for that since I likely won’t be able to wait. Watching shows is pretty highly dependent on how much I want to watch something and if subs take a while lol. 

so reading, and listening. and a little listening-reading method too. mainly just working on reading, listening, vocab acquisition. chinese is going good - for a few months now i’ve just had the plan ‘read often while looking up unknown words, and add some listening study activity when i have time.’ It’s simple, and its been working well.  later on down the road i’ll need some explicit grammar clarification again, but this is bare bones enough of a study plan at the moment. i’m clearly picking up words and phrases and hanzi at a reasonable pace. its not the Fastest obviously, but it is causing improvement over time and since i’m enjoying it i see no reason to change it up.

ending things

...who knows WHY i am so well focused this month with so much energy... tbh... i track how many chapters i read a month/audio i listen to/show episodes i watch etc, and this month is like as much as 3 other of my usual months combined. also my japanese has been basically ‘dabbling only’ prior to this month.

 although... maybe in part its how i’ve gotten better at reading hanshe? Reading being easier certainly motivates me TO read more. And watching shows was MUCH easier this month (still not ‘easy’ but following the main plot is) which definitely makes me Want to watch more. Also i am... unbelievably motivated by a challenge. I think i got it in my head that i ‘really want to do more of Nukemarine’s LLJ courses and see how much i understand after them’ and now... i really want them DONE. so maybe the current things motivating me will hold out for a while. 

(On the listening-reading front meanwhile, that activity takes SO much concentration its hard to do if i’m tired, BUT i have so many TRANSLATED novels i want to read recently and honestly its fun hearing the chinese narration and audiobook actors so like... i very much Want to do l-r so i can hear them as i read the translation... immovable object of me tired versus how much i’m interested in them lol ToT).

also thank u thank u @a-whump-muffin for sending me those lets plays because honestly it got me so excited again and its so cool to see them!!! <3 <3 and its so much easier to watch them versus committing to playing a whole game myself just yet ToT 

[justtrying-studyblog]

Books I’ve Read in 2021

This post is gonna be an ongoing report of all the books I’ve read in 2021. In 2020 (with all the time at home) I read dozens of books but never really kept up with them (even on Goodreads, i’m bad at keeping track of stuff). So here are the books that I read in 2021 and what I thought about them.

(not my gif)

So to start off with, I read the first book in the Selection Series by Kiera Cass, The Selection. I thought it was pretty good, a fast read with enough drama and romance to keep you engaged. I have to admit, I was put off by her name being America, it is a bit cheesy, and it does remind me of Matched by Ally Condie but that isn’t to say it is unoriginal and predictable. It’s a nice read and not too serious to make you think too much, overall I recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick, engaging book. However, please be aware that this is a series and the book does end on a cliffhanger (which really bummed me out cause I can’t find the book in any thrift stores near me). 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars cause it is that typical young adult dystopian novel and I don’t like that they didn’t solve the main conflict in this book. 

(not my gif)

So the next book I read was Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. I love this book, it’s just such a unique idea with a transgender main character who struggles with his families acceptance and ghosts! That’s right, ghosts. It has great representation and I literally found myself leaning into the book and forgetting about the world in some scenes. Now, despite being my favorite book at the moment, it does have a few faults. I found the beginning a bit slow (but I always find the beginning of books slow, I understand it takes time to build the world but sometimes it makes me just stop reading altogether). I’m also bilingual so the switch between English and Spanish didn’t really phase me but I did notice that there are a few moments where the Spanish isn’t translated. However, please don’t let this deter you from reading it because this book is such a heart warming, ghost loving, coming of age story and I want the whole world to read it and give all the love to Aiden Thomas. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars ‘cause this book made me emotional and I still think about it after a week of reading it. In fact, I’m probably gonna reread this book within the month. 

(not my gif)

This next book is The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow by Amy Alward and Zoe Sugg. It was a really interesting book set in an English boarding school after a tragic death of one of their students. The book shuffles between the two main character perspectives, with one being an A-student from England and the new student from America. It was pretty interesting of a book and it did keep me hooked on the plot from the moment I opened it. If you like murder mysteries than this is the book for you. I will admit though, at some moments it was easier to guess certain plot points but there’s still enough surprises to keep you on your toes. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars but only because of how predictable the book could be at some points. Other than that, it is a good book and a quick read (and it’s becoming a series soon!). I do recommend this book to anybody who’s interested, but I have to be honest in my review that it was not my favorite book (hence the neutral rating of 3).

[atamascolily]

So I got to read Wayward Son, by Rainbow Rowell! It’s the second Simon Snow book, a YA series very strongly inspired by/riffing off of Harry Potter. It was snarky and self-aware and fun like its predecessor, and I enjoyed it immensely

After saving the world in Carry On, Simon Snow’s old life is shattered and he’s stuck with a massive case of PTSD. Neither his best friend Penny nor his hot vampire boyfriend Baz can get him off the couch and out of his depressive funk, until Penny decides they are going to take a Great American Roadtrip to annoy the hell out of visit their friend Agatha, who moved to California at the end of Book One precisely so she could get away from their shenanigans. Of course, Agatha manages to wind up in trouble again, so it’s a good thing her friends are already on their way.

Basically, it’s a Harry/Draco mutual pining fic where they’re already dating, and Hermione shanghais them on a road trip to see Viktor Krum and a gender-flipped Ron Weasley. But funnier, and with exponentially more vampires.

As usual, the dialogue is snappy, funny, and on point. I love how Rowell constantly switches perspectives, so we sometimes see the same scene from two different characters’ POV. I love the magic system despite the fact that it is--deliberately--not the focus here. I like new character Shepherd, a Normal who used to be a stormchaser before he decided that befriending magickal people and creatures was more fun, his hidden depths, and the friends he takes them to visit. And without spoiling anything, Rowell’s scenario involving Silicon Valley tech bros is frighteningly plausible.

My only complaint is that nowhere in the packaging or marketing is there any mention that the book ends with a cliffhanger, which strongly implies that more books are coming (something that is also not mentioned anywhere). Maybe I am spoiled because of A03, but I really just like to know that the story isn’t finished first, so I don’t feel so gobsmacked by the dangling plot threads at the end. Still, I’m looking forward to whatever comes next--probably There’ll Be Peace When You’re Gone, Lay Your Weary Head To Rest, and Don’t You Cry No More, if Rowell keeps up with her theme.

[likeabxrdinflight]

I’mma be honest, I don’t think george rr martin is this pinnacle of amazing writing people like to act like he is

like let’s be straight for a minute. I managed to finish the first book of asoiaf in like...six months? of starting it?? it was a while ago. and I started clash of kings, but just.. got bored of the rambling pretty fast. so here are the things I had issues with when attempting to read the two smallest of his books:

the switching back and forth between character perspectives feels disjointed. it’s hard to be invested in one character’s story and then switch back to someone else at a crucial moment. and then switch to someone else. then someone else. then someone else. then back that other character. then finally we get to follow up on the cliffhanger from five chapters ago. only now, I’ve forgotten the exact details of what had happened and the tension has dropped dramatically for me. 

he...rambles. a lot. and I hear it only gets worse in later books. you know all that criticism of the excessive political talk in star wars the phantom menace? yeah, same for asoiaf. 

*insert the beatles “long and winding road” here.*

honestly the whole plot is rambling at this point. the show had to cut a lot of unnecessary story arcs, or at least trim them down, some with less success than others. (Dorne was bad we all agree on this). but honestly? the tv show has an end goal in mind. I’m not sure george does. not really- he might have a vague notion of where it’s going but I don’t think he knows how to get there. admittedly it’s going to be harder for him now that the show had outpaced him- but I don’t think he had the clearest outline to begin with. and he is taking the longest possible route to get there- not just in terms of how long it’s taking him to finish, but the actual finished products themselves- they are absurdly long. this was supposed to be a trilogy. 

along those lines, too many characters and too many subplots to keep track of. cutting rooms are a good thing. 

the excessive amount of detail. and admittedly I hear about this more in the later books from people who’ve read them, but it’s there from the beginning to a certain extent. he throws tiny details into the story and then forgets about it for twenty chapters. he himself admits he does this, calling himself a “gardener” style of writer. and I think it causes him to get a bit...lost in the weeds of his books. I think he’s missing the forest for the trees, to an extent.

there’s just too many characters to keep track of. he’s writing an ensemble books with...how many povs has it been now? and this kind of goes back to the first point, but it really is a lot to keep track of and a lot to try to care about. most books keep a limited perspective, or if they don’t, they go for the omniscient style, with a faceless narrator telling the story. this is a limited perspective style, but with, what, at least 20 different viewpoints???? george I cannot do this.

and it’s not that he’s bad at the actual prose- his writing is usually clear and understandable, he doesn’t insert unnecessary adjectives or anything annoying, and his dialogue is always pretty good, but man, I have a hard time trying to read his books anyways.

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: September 2017

We’re leaving behind beaches and boogie boards for ghosts and goblins and I couldn’t be more stoked! Here’s all that I consumed over the month of September.

……….FILM……….

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) After watching this video exploring why the film is so great, I’d decided to check it out and OH WHOA IT”S SO GOOD! It had well-written characters, a great sense of history, a compelling villain, and even a love story that I could get behind (I generally prefer platonic relationships). If you’ve never seen it, go check it out.

It (2017) So I’m not a diehard Stephen King fan and I didn’t really grow up in the 80s so this movie just didn’t do it for me. The stuff between the kids was great but I suppose I was expecting…more? Maybe some cool psychological shapeshifting stuff to separate the kids in the sewers? Or more of the library scene where you’re not sure if it’s IT or the librarian? Instead we got “okay we’re stronger together…let’s separate” and that just didn’t cut it. 

The Girl With All the Gifts (2016) Probably the artsiest zombie movie I’ve ever seen and it was great. Fairly faithful to the book but of course can’t go into the same sort of character nuance. Whether you’ve read the book or not I’d still recommend it.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) You know I’d never seen this all the way through and there are way more gunfights with pirates than I would’ve expected. Anderson’s films seem to always feature 8-15 men and 2 woman as (one as voice of reason and one as love interest) and it’s kinda bumming me out. Visuals, as always, are some of my favourite in cinema.

……….TELEVISION……….

Terrace House: Aloha State (Episode 1.01 to 1.20) Definitely a shift in tone from Boys & Girls in the City but it’s still very kind television. The panel will never not be the best part of this show and I can’t recommend it enough for anyone who likes chill, feel-good reality tv.

Rick & Morty (Episode 3.07 to 3.09) The show seems to be keeping its bleak tone but at least they’re not just focusing on Rick being a dick. The serialized direction is really serving the characters but I’d love an occasionally contained episode as a bit of a break. 

……….READING……….

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (Complete) Just fantastic. I had a bit of trouble with the fact that every woman in the story is described as beautiful until a friend pointed out that this is the main character’s perspective and that’s how he sees the world. So I spent the rest of the book with the knowledge that this was a biased recounting of events and it changed everything for the better! I think the nature of the story would lend itself to be a great audio book so I can’t recommend it enough.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (Page 56 of 607) I’ve only just started but I already get a vibe I’m onto something special. I remember seeing something about one of Murakami’s books spending time in a spirit world and I can’t remember if it’s this one (and don’t want to spoil myself by finding out). I’m just gonna roll with it and see where it goes.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Volume 4 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Paul Allor, Sophie Campbell, Mateus Santolouco, and more (Complete) The plot in this volume was really focused on setting up the next big conflict so it didn’t hook me the same as the swifter pacing of earlier chapters. With that said, I love Campbell’s take on April and the Turtles, and there were a couple cool character introductions. I still can’t recommend this series enough to any turtle fan.

Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye Vol. 1 by Jon Rivera, Gerard Way, Michael Avon Oeming, and Nick Filardi (Complete) I really wanted to like this. It has a pulpy premise, it’s written by Gerard Way, and the cover looked appropriately engaging, but it just didn’t work for me. I appreciate the art style but tonally, it didn’t fit (except in the more psychedelic scenes) and has a real 90s aesthetic. I was also super bummed that the trade ends in a cliffhanger but I don’t think I’m going to keep with it. 

Sandman Vol. 10 - The Wake by Neil Gaiman + countless excellent artists (Complete) This was a fitting end to such a unique story. The funeral plot was fantastic and the last chapter was a great reflection on the series, but there were bits in the middle that felt like filler. And the idea that Morpheus looks to others for their stories since he doesn’t have his own seems…off. Weren’t the first couple trades focusing on his recovery and return to power? The later instalments definitely put him in the supporting character role but that wasn’t always so. I dunno it just weakened the ending for me. Still great.

DEATH Deluxe Edition by Neil Gaiman + countless excellent artists (Complete) Reading a Death-centric anthology made me realize how much more interesting of a character she is. Morpheus was always a little too gloom for me (especially given that he’s the personification of something so imaginative and sporadic as dreams) so spending more time with Death was a treat.

……….AUDIO……….

Perpetual Touch by DIANA (2016) My bestie recommended them since it has everything I love: synthesizer, female vocals, and an upbeat tempo. I caught the last 2 songs of their set at a show (the gig poster’s design was misleading on what band was playing when) and their vocals were SO ON POINT! If you dig the album and have the chance to see them live, do it.

Hounds of Love by Kate Bush (1985) This is what happens when you watch a VOX video on gated reverb.

……….GAMING……….

Dungeons & Dragons Hexcrawl Campaign (Wizards of the Coast) The party discovered that a wizard has been enchanting dolls to pull off a string of local robberies and the tower was a veritable column of chaos! Basically I really liked that one scene in IT with all the clowns and went from there. Now that the mystery of the crimes have been solved, it looks like the party is on their way to investigate a cursed mansion.

Octopath Traveller (Demo) (Square Enix) It’s been a while since I’ve delved into an RPG but the Switch is making that so so easy! I love the mechanics and while it’s a little chatty at the beginning, it’s well-paced when it gets going. I’m looking forward to the full release next year.

And that’s it! As always, let me know if you have any recommendations for things to play, read, watch, or hear!

Happy Saturday.

[goodbadanduglybooks]

Review: Strays

Book Review: Strays by Emma Kendrick

Overall Rating: 7/10 (3/5 stars) Plot: 7/10 Characters: 5/10 Writing: 7.5/10 Originality: 8.5/10

Genre: New Adult Published: 2016 Number of Pages: 361 | Kindle Edition

Summary:  Best friends Jackie and Tyler set out on an adventure to find somewhere to call home, hoping to escape the violent city life and settle down in a quiet place where they can make something of themselves. What they find instead is the notorious Red Kings Motorcycle Club, outlaw bikers that rule the city's criminal underground.  Only able to avoid them for so long, the unsuspecting pair get thrown into turf wars and drug trafficking before they can even figure out what's happened. And as Tyler is dragged deeper into the club's illegal activity, Jackie remains stuck in limbo as she tries to resist the pull of one Dean Rockwell, the MC's most dangerous member.  Torn between the tight-knit family of bikers and the safety of a normal life, can Jackie navigate the treacherous new waters without losing herself and her best friend? Or will a series of unfortunate events lead her down a path that she can't come back from?

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review: This book is definitely not what I expected. From the summary, I expected a really action-packed novel filled with death, drugs, and destruction. Instead, I got a romance with a surprising twist. I’m not necessarily saying it’s a bad thing, in fact, I think I enjoyed this book more the way it is than I would have had it been an action/adventure novel. However, there are points where the plot drags. The overall book lacks complexity and the characters are stubbornly, consistently, and overly misogynistic, just to keep the tough “bad boy” image. Despite these flaws, the writing of the book is good, the varying points of view are handled surprisingly well, and the story kept me at least somewhat interested the whole way through. I definitely ended this book wanting to read the next one. Strays is perfect for those who enjoy new adult books, and dark romances full of angst.

The plot of this book is particularly interesting because it takes turns that one wouldn’t expect from reading the summary. It’s conflicting though because it feels like a lot of pages go by without anything really concrete happening. Knowing that this is going to be a series, I think this first book serves as a great foundation for whatever is to come. Reading it, it feels like Strays was written in order for the reader to begin to be immersed into the world, to feel attached to the characters. My only problem is, while this was accomplished decently well, there are few really emotional, tense moments that remind the reader of the danger that the characters are in. The characters talk about this danger, but it is only really seen in the beginning and end of the novel. While I’m glad that the plot isn’t wall-to-wall action, a little more here and there would have been a nice touch.

Unfortunately, because this is a spoiler free review, I can’t divulge in the main plot twist, which happens about midway through the book. However, the twist itself makes the last half of the book so much better. It was at this point I couldn’t put the book down, I had to know what was going to happen and the consequences of it. The climax of the novel has a moment that is incredibly emotional and real, and such moments are few and far between in new adult literature. What I love about the plot of Strays is that while the overall setting will be difficult for nearly all readers to relate to, real life consequences are still present. Whenever the plot or the biker gangs seemed a little too West Side Story-like for reality, Kendrick brings readers back to Earth and forms the connection between what is going on in this setting and what goes on in real life. I really appreciate this aspect of the plot and her writing. The resolution of the novel ends on a slight cliffhanger and sets a very interesting tone for novels to come, certainly leaving readers wanting to get their hands on the next installment.

The characters, while still interesting to read about, are probably the most disappointing part of this novel. Particularly disconcerting was the misogyny present in the majority of the novel. I totally understand that these guys have to look, appear, and be really tough. But that can happen without degrading comments toward women every other page. I understand that there’s also supposed to be character development where Dean comes to respect Jackie a little more, but the constant crass and crude comments just were not fun to read. A lot of the characters get no redemption on this end. Some character development comes with a conversation that Jackie has with one of the bikers about why they kill, about why they commit all these crimes. I think that same nobleness, the same wanting to protect the town and keep the drugs away from it, can occur without the misogyny. I think that would make the story far more original and enjoyable to read about.

There are some characters that I really enjoyed throughout the series and that I think are very well developed. I like Tyler, Jackie’s friend and the reason she gets into the club, and how out-of-place he may seem at first among the bikers, but how much he fits in in the end. I also really enjoy Bianca, who is sort of the matriarch of one of the biker groups. It’s nice to have other female characters present in the story besides the main lead, and who are of a variety of ages and personalities. I think Dean and Jackie still have a lot of development potential for the coming books. Though the POV switches are fairly easy to follow, the third person style makes it difficult to truly connect to Dean or Jackie. I think there’s more complexity among the main characters that I hope Kendrick explores in the coming installments.

I do really enjoy Kendrick’s writing style in Strays. I’ll briefly echo what other reviewers have mentioned and state that, with the Kindle copy that I received, there is a formatting problem where paragraphs will occasionally split, so I hope that gets fixed in the rest of the series. I do think that the point of view switches, though numerous, are done very skillfully. As with any POV style, authors always give something up; had the novel been in first person, that amount of POV switches would have been nearly impossible, and because this novel is in third person, characters seem more detached, and it is more difficult to gauge their thoughts. But Kendrick’s style here is consistent, flows smoothly, and allows readers to get multiple perspectives on the same situation. The style aides with the pacing of the plot as well. Apart from the tiring resort to crude comments to characterize the bikers, the description and dialogue seem mostly realistic and are enjoyable to read.

I can honestly say that I’ve never read anything like this book, with the good and the bad. The topic of bikers at first doesn’t seem terribly original, but with the plot twist combined with the fact that this book centers far more around character development than it does action, Strays is certainly unique. Though as I previously stated, this book would be completely original in the best possible way if the bikers were more respectful, I definitely enjoyed reading this book because of its rarity. I’m looking forward to following Jackie and Dean in future installments of the series.

Overall: Strays is certainly not your typical action-filled biker gang book, but in a good way. With mostly positive character development and only a few problems in terms of pacing, this is a great choice for anyone who loves a good, angst-filled New Adult romance.

Learn more and purchase here!

[cover2covermom]

Why hello there February!  Ta-ta January!!!

I don’t know about you all, but I had a fantastic month.  Not only was I able to slay my January TBR and read a total of 10 books, but I was able to get back into my blogging groove.

Let’s see how I fared in January, shall we?

» After being on a hiatus from October – December 2017, I feel like I am finally back into the swing of things.  I really focused this month on writing book reviews to clear out my backlog of NetGalley reviews.   This will most likely continue through February until I am all caught up.

» Moving forward, I will only be writing full reviews for books I receive for review.  For all other books I read, I will be breaking them up into genres (historical fiction, fantasy, thriller, etc) & posting mini-reviews once I have about 5 books to review in each category.  I wish I had time to review every book I read, but it just isn’t realistic since I read much faster than I review.

*Book titles link to Goodreads

» The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner

Feelings in a few thoughts:

this book is a gem – I wish it had received more attention when it came out in 2016 ¤ set on an island off the coast of Italy – small island living where everyone is in everyone else’s business

loved the inclusion of folklore & superstition (inspired by Sicilian & Italian folklore?

this book follows one family over the span of the 20th century – you would think character development would suffer as the different descendants come to the forefront of the story, but the author somehow pulls it off so well

family secrets & drama

interesting seeing the progression of the island community throughout the course of the century

» The Girl in the Tower (Winternight #2) by Katherine Arden

Feelings in a few thoughts:

Even BETTER than the first book!

I love Vasya’s character.  I love that she is fierce, brave, independent, level-headed, and kind

Political intrigue

Sibling relationships – complicated, but at the end of the day they always have each other’s backs.

Religious tones – not preachy.  Christianity vs. Paganism.

I’m a sucker for books where women disguise themselves as men – Think Mulan

The Bear and the Nightingale was a slower moving book for world building purposes – The Girl in the Tower is an action packed adventure.

If you enjoy this series, I’d recommend the YA historical fiction (no fantasy) series The Conqueror’s Saga: And I Darken & Now I Rise by Kiersten White.  It is a gender swap retelling of Vlad the Impaler.

» Tumbledown Manor by Helen Brown

Feelings in a few thoughts:

Same plotline as Under the Tuscan Sun – divorced woman moves to another country, buys old house, begins fixing up old house with goofy contractors, disasters along the way, and a wedding at the house at the end of the book… sound familiar?

The romance was very awkward.

Struggled with the writing at times: “But his pillow was as vacant as the wastelands of Antarctica” “It was her favorite pillow, so it probably harbored superbugs.” “The scar ran in a horizontal line across her torso like a ruler marking the end of a school essay.” “…row of suns yellow as egg yolks.” “Scott’s boots lay like a pair of drunken sailors under the step.”

Best part about the book is that the MC is an author who writes a series of books based off the Brontë sisters, so there were lots of tidbits of information about the sisters and their lives.

Love the cover

» May the Road Rise Up to Meet You by Peter Troy

Feelings in a few thoughts:

This book is about 4 hours too long – because of the length & slower moving plot, this book took me a month to read.

The convergence of the 2 love stories didn’t really work for me.  There wasn’t a significant enough connection between Ethan/Marcella and Micah/Mary.  They all just kind of met up at the end, which felt a little forced.

This book needed to be separated into two books: Ethan & Marcella’s story, and Micah & Mary’s story.  I enjoyed both stories, but it was too much all together.

This wasn’t a bad book by any means, just feel that the author was a little too ambitious.

» The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Feelings in a few thoughts:

The Handmaid’s Tale is timeless.  I cannot believe this book was written in the early 80’s.

With the current situation in the U.S., this book felt very relevant.  It is also what makes it so terrifying, the fact that it isn’t so unbelievable as you would hope.

This wasn’t exactly an enjoyable read.  It made me angry, which was Atwood’s intent.

Loved the open-endness of this book and felt it was really fitting of the story for us to leave some things up to the reader’s imagination.

The way THT is written took a little bit to get used to – switches from present to past frequently without clear indication.

This book isn’t action packed, but it still packs a punch.

» Nora & Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor

Feelings in a few thoughts:

Content/Trigger Warning: child abuse.  This book ended up including a topic that I am very sensitive to: child abuse.  Generally I can handle books that do not go into graphic detail, but unfortunately this one did.  This was a hard book for me to get through.

Going to leave this one unrated because it ended up include a topic I am sensitive to.  I don’t feel like it would be fair to rate this one because of this.

This book would have been better as a single POV book.  I feel like it would have been better to tell this one through Kettle’s eyes alone.

Loved that the characters in this story showed the aftermath of the interment of Japanese Americans during WWII, HOWEVER the author gave zero information about the actual event.   We only get small flashbacks of life in the camp through the characters’ eyes, but we don’t get any actual historical context.  If you are not familiar with this event in history, you would have to look it up to see what the author is talking about.

Less a Peter Pan retelling, and more like the story was inspired by Peter Pan – this aspect was well done.

» The Queen of Blood (The Queens of Renthia #1) by Sarah Beth Durst

*4.5 stars*

Feelings in a few thoughts:

I loved the world in The Queen of Blood: the idea that humans & spirits (water, earth, air, fire, etc.) have to coexist despite the fact that spirits desire the eradication of all humans.  The setting was also intriguing: people colonizing in trees together to form villages & cities… very whimsical

Daleina was such an awesome main character.  I admired her level-headedness, cleverness, dedication, work ethic, and bravery.  I also really appreciated that she was not the best, in fact she struggled, with controlling the spirits.  It was refreshing to see someone who had to make up for things that do not come naturally with hard work and cleverness.

I was worried at first that this book was going to be cliché, but it wasn’t like anything I had read before.  Some things were not a big shock, but I was still surprised a fair amount of times.

Positive female friendship – zero girl hate!

The ending was on point!

» The Hatching (The Hatching #1) by Ezekiel Boone

Feelings in a few thoughts:

I stepped WAY outside of my comfort zone with this one… I tend to avoid books that have to do with things I am terrified of, like man-eating spiders.

If I had no idea who the author was before reading this, I could have told you it was written by a man.  This book definitely feels like a book that would appeal to the “man’s man.”  This is not a criticism of the book, just that you should not expect “flowery writing.”

I would describe this book as being a little “rough around the edges.”  It has foul language and is crude at times, which doesn’t bother me, but if you are easily offended this probably isn’t your book.

Despite the fact that this book terrified me, it was very readable – I had to know what was going to happen next.

Loved that Boone had so many female characters in positions of power in this story: the president, a marine squad leader, a leading scientist in the field of spiders…

While I understand why the author chose to tell this story by introducing us to multiple characters, it was almost too much.  I would have preferred for the story to have been told through 3-4 main POVs, and leave the others off.  We were introduced to a new character every chapter up until the 30% mark before we cycled back around to some of the past characters.

The Hatching leaves us with a HUGE cliffhanger, enough of one that I am throwing around the idea of reading the next book.

» Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Feelings in a few thoughts:

I would have adored this book when I was in high school.  This is such an appropriate YA romance.

There isn’t much of a plotline – this is a very character driven story.

Would recommend to fans of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe BUT I felt the pacing of this book was much better than Aristotle and Dante

Positive family dynamics with parents that are actually involved with their children’s’ lives.  A teenager actually got grounded in a YA book?!  Thank you!  I don’t know about you all, but I spent much of my teen years grounded.

Positive friendships for the most part – just a smidge of “girl hate” in Leah & Abby’s relationship, BUT there was at least a reasoning behind it.

The author nailed Simon’s perspective – I really felt like I was in the head of a teenager.

There were two parts in the plot that annoyed me a little – they both have to do with separate fights that Leah & Abby have with Simon… Really?  HOWEVER I try to keep in mind that these are teenagers.

FYI: Simon’s last name (Spier) is pronounced “SP-EAR” – I just looked at the spelling and if I hadn’t listened to it via audiobook I would have been pronouncing it “SPY-ER”

» Binti (Binti #1) by Nnedi Okorafor

Feelings in a few thoughts:

This world gave me Star Wars and The Fifth Element vibes.

There were times where I had a difficult time following along & understanding the world & the concepts – this isn’t a criticism of the book per se, as it is probably more me not being able to wrap my head around everything.

The writing is breathtaking.

Themes: cultural diversity, peace, communication, customs & traditions, forging one’s own path, etc.

Binti was an amazing female lead – smart, talented, brave, level-headed, etc.

The audiobook is wonderfully narrated by Robin Miles,

I really wish this had been a full length novel – how was the author able to pack in such a mind-blowing world in such a short novella?!?

I think fans of The Fifth Season would enjoy this novella series.

  2017 Reading Wrap-Up + Bookish Goals for 2018

January 2018 TBR

2017 New Releases I Wish I Had Read in 2017

Book Event: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Book Tour

Book Event: The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo Book Tour

Book Reviews:

Book Review: The Last Girl (The Dominion Trilogy #1) by Joe Hart

Book Review: North of Here by Laurel Saville

Book Review: Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend

Book Reiew: Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale by David Kudler

eBooks:

» As Good As True by Cheryl Reid

A powerful and haunting novel of a woman’s broken past and the painful choices she must make to keep her family and her home.

August 1956. After a night of rage and terror, Anna Nassad wakes to find her abusive husband dead and instinctively hides her bruises and her relief. As the daughter of Syrian immigrants living in segregated Alabama, Anna has never belonged, and now her world is about to erupt.

Days before, Anna set in motion an explosive chain of events by allowing the first black postman to deliver the mail to her house. But it’s her impulsive act of inviting him inside for a glass of water that raises doubts about Anna’s role in her husband’s death.

As threats and suspicions arise in the angry community, Anna must confront her secrets in the face of devastating turmoil and reconcile her anguished relationship with her daughter. Will she discover the strength to fight for those she loves most, even if it means losing all she’s ever known?

» Declaration: A Poetry Chapbook in Three Movements by Jeff Roush

This poetry chapbook constitutes the first collection published by Jeff Roush. Its inspiration and organizational structure come from Jefferson’s inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The chapbook focuses its linguistic eye and musical ear on quiet moments in everyday life that fall among and across these lofty concepts.

Physical Books:

» Beartown by Fredrik Backman

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream—and the price required to make it come true.

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world. 

Which books did you read this month?

Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month?  If so, what did you think?

Did you buy any books?  If so, which ones?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

How was your #reading month in January? I read 10 #books! See which ones in my #wrapup. #BookBlogger #Bookworm Why hello there February!  Ta-ta January!!! I don't know about you all, but I had a fantastic month. 

[authorjanellesamara-blog]

Book Review: The Girl Who Lived by Paul Dale Anderson

The Girl Who Lived: Megan's Story by Paul Dale Anderson had me riveted. I was glued to the pages and I could not put it down. I started reading it one morning, read all day, and fell asleep reading it that night. The next morning, I had it finished within an hour. It was superb, fantastic, and well-crafted. I absolutely loved it. 

Megan was just a normal girl, trying to find her place in the world while her parents got divorced. After moving in with her sister, Susan, her life took a sharp turn toward Hell. She got beaten, raped, cut to ribbons, and left for dead. Her sister found her, saved her life, and Megan spent years recovering. She then spent some time hunting down the men who'd raped her, fearing that they'd go after her sister again like they'd originally planned. She almost succeeded, too, until she was caught and locked up in an institute for the criminally insane after castrating three men and letting them bleed out, then shooting her four rapists, killing one of them. 

But, all of that already happened in the first book. This one here is the sequel. I actually haven't read the first book yet. It's titled Spilled Milk. I can't wait to read it. But here's the great part, the part I love about authors and writing, series and sequels. You don't actually have to read the first one to understand the second one. Everything you need to know is in this novel. References are explained. There are no dangling lines that refer to something from the past that isn't explained. I freaking love that! It drives me kind of bonkers when an author has "inside jokes" or past references peppered throughout their work that only make any sense at all if you've read all of the (5, 10, 20) other books in the series. This book is a sequel, but it works as a stand-alone. I love that!

The story is well written. It's full of suspense. It’s a police procedural, mixed with a serial killer thriller, mixed with an investigative journalism novel. The chapters range in size, from a few pages to quite long. Each perspective shift occurs at chapter changes. Actually, let's talk about perspective...

The book opens in first person, from Megan's point of view. She's in a mental hospital, trying to convince a shrink that she's now sane so that she can get out and exact her revenge on the men who destroyed her life. She must get out so that she can finish what she's started. Three of her rapists are still alive and she can't have that, now, can she?

The narrative shifts to third person as we move around town, getting to know the other people involved in this suspenseful tale. We see through the eyes and minds of a number of people, which really builds the anxiety for the reader. I thought the shifts were well placed and skillfully executed. When we leave off with one character, it's a total cliffhanger. Then the next chapter will go to someone else's activities and you just have to keep reading to find out what happened to so-and-so.

Now, it's also important to note tense as well as perspective. The first-person sections are all in the present tense. While it may bother some people, I freaking loved it! Having her tell her part as it's happening really builds the tension. Maybe it's because I loved Bone Music so much, but I really felt that the way Anderson switched things up in this novel worked quite well. 

Early in the book, Megan's style of narrative changes. In the first chapter, she's using first/third. (I, he, she, they.) But by the second or third time we're in her mind, she has shifted to using first/second. (I and you.) It's almost like she's leaving a journal or writing letters to the people she's interacting with. But she's not. It's more like she's disassociating while she tells the story to herself in her head. She's detaching herself from the situations and looking in from the outside, even when she's involved. It's a very subtle narrative tool that I appreciated immensely. By talking to the bad guy in her head ("I hear you talking about me.") she seems to be feeling more justified in her actions.

It is subtle. It is not spelled out. But I like the feeling that maybe she is having some sort of psychotic break. She's not that big on talking to people that she dislikes, but she'll stew over them in her mind. Even though she's losing it, she's still fairly spot on with her assumptions and her reading of the bad guys as being bad. 

I liked that Anderson had Megan be so observant and intuitive. Because sometimes, a sister knows when she's needed, even if she is a bit of a psycho herself. A victim--a survivor--has to learn to adapt and observe. They have to be able to read body language and intent in other people with an accuracy that borders on mind reading. Seriously. Do you want to meet a great judge of character? Talk to someone who's been a severe victim of violence, only to rise up and become stronger than they were before. They can often read people like they are books. There is no hiding your evil from a strong survivor. And that's exactly what Megan is. That makes this book feel real. 

I also liked the mob element of this novel. It really made things a lot more interesting. Seeing things from the perspective of various police officers, a serial killer, and the investigative reporter also provided essential elements to the plot and the suspense. I really did love the switching of perspectives. It was also never left for you to wonder who we were with at the start of each new chapter. Anderson says it right away.

Megan has a mantra throughout the novel. "I am nothing if not patient." I did not find it redundant. I really liked it, but then, that's something I've said for years. I am many things, though, so I often change the last word. It was frequently her last words in her chapters and it really added to the thrill, the desire to keep reading to find out what happens next.  

Overall, this was a fantastic book. I'm really looking forward to reading the first one. If Anderson happens to have come out with a third, I'll definitely be buying it in the bookstore while I'm here at ThrillerFest. Since this book was only released last year, I bet you can find it in the bookstore this year. You should totally buy it. I can't recommend it enough. You can find more about Paul Dale Anderson's decades of writing here. Or, you can find him here at ThrillerFest. He's usually out on the mezzanine smoking. Oh, but not this year. He had family stuff to do. Check for him again next year. But until then, go buy some of his books.

[dreamsandgrains]

The Fold: A novel by Peter Clines - I’m Sold: A review by Me

“STEP INTO THE FOLD.

IT’S PERFECTLY SAFE,”

screams the blurb on the cover of The Fold. If that wasn’t enough of a hint for you, here’s a spoiler: NO. THE FOLD IS NOT REALLY ALL THAT SAFE.

I know, I know, it came as a bit of a shock to me as well.

If you haven’t read the book, here’s what you need to know: what starts out as promising science fiction, gradually devolves into nonsensical “horror”. The transition is gradual until it isn’t. It suddenly goes Lovecraftian (at least, that’s what people seem to call it) full-tilt with no warning. That said, the story itself is a breeze. Incredibly short chapters make it a rapid read, and I finished this book the fastest I’ve finished any book in quite some time. If you’re looking for an easy read that keeps you interested with vague science-words-fiction-terms, give it a shot, you will enjoy it.

“We take over six hundred pages of math and force-feed it to the universe through an electromagnetic funnel. We tell the universe ‘I don’t care what you think. I’m lifting my foot here and putting it down there.’ ”

“And the universe doesn’t object?”

Arthur finished off his whiskey. “Not so far.”

That’s an actual quote from the book.

As someone who’s read four other books by Peter Clines, I can pretentiously say with conviction that his writing in The Fold is a definite step-up. Looking past his egregious use of double contractions like wouldn’t’ve and his weird obsession with the phrase ‘baker’s dozen’ - though both of which made but a single appearance each in this book, if I’m not wrong - I thoroughly enjoyed how well-paced the book was. The earlier chapters slowly build momentum, building anticipation, making you desperately want to know how things work. And when finally you do, it’s kind of a let-down.

I air-quoted nonsensical “horror” because with so much of cinema and literature touting world-ending crises and heroes rising against odds, I’ve been desensitised to any and all forms of disaster. I just did not feel invested enough to care or be horrified that the world might be ending. And in this book, so many others indeed do end. And that just dials up the numbness to said endings of said worlds.

Mild spoilers follow.

Let me elaborate. A bunch of scientists make something they call the Albuquerque Door that lets people travel great distances in the blink of an eye. But the hero later discovers that each time a person uses the door, they essentially enter a different reality and displace their selves from that new reality into ours. Let’s call ours the base reality, because ours is the most important reality and everything revolves around us. But the story goes on to say that the scientists who have stepped through the fold have been replaced each time with their alternate selves from other similar realities. Now this is an incredible concept and I love it! And I absolutely love the foreshadowing -

“Half the time I feel like I’m surrounded by strangers.”

But we learn that many of these realities have been destroyed utterly. Meaning the OG characters from base reality could have at some point travelled to these realities, sent their selves from there to base reality and then died there with that reality. When there are infinite such realities, why does anything matter? Nothing we ever achieve can ever mean anything and everything is pointless. So why bother? Unless Clines meant all of it as a clever metaphor for our own existence, in which case, wow, that took a depressing turn.

Spoilers end. For now.

As with his other series Ex-Heroes, Clines relies quite a bit on pop-culture references to evoke a sense of connection in readers. Now I don’t strictly have a problem with this, but I hold the snobbish opinion that any story should be able to stand on its own, without having to lean on other, better works for people to be able to like it. But damn it, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sit there grinning like an idiot at that reference to Portal. And The Fold goes on to redeem itself further. Popular culture plays a crucial role in the characters figuring out information vital to the plot. So as much as I want to write it off as a crutch, I can’t help but appreciate how well pop-culture is used naturally, to keep the narrative consistent.

If you like puzzling things out, then boy, are you in for a treat. Everything, and I mean every last thing in the book is a Chekhov’s gun. Clines has assembled an intricate jigsaw where hints hang directly in front of you waiting for you to make the connection; from pets to infestations, nothing exists without purpose.

I wouldn’t necessarily call any of it complex, but it definitely is rewarding to piece things together and go ‘Ahhh!’ every now and then.

The characters that populate the many worlds of The Fold left me rather ambivalent. One description of the book contains the sentence:

“A cunningly inventive mystery featuring a hero worthy of Sherlock Holmes”

Hmm. I wonder why that is. Could it be because the protagonist’s nickname is Mike, as in Mycroft Holmes? Or because the last section of the book is legit, titled “Sherlock”? Nah, that seems unlikely. Mike feels very much like a professionally written mumbo-jumbo (I mean, sci-fi), fan fiction version of Sherlock Holmes. He’s got a killer IQ and an eidetic memory that let him visualise 3D models of places and superimpose them on the real world. He can replay any movie he’s seen in his mind, at any speed he chooses. He can make detailed mind-spreadsheets, learn C++ in a couple of hours, read really fast, find his way around in the dark with nothing but his memory, and annoy you by remembering everything and always being right. He can also play back memories frame-by-frame. Did someone forget to tell him that real-life motion doesn’t work like a video’s frame rate? Like I said, Sherlock fan-fic.

Now, Mike is not just a piece of intellectual meat. He has a love interest. Because, why not? That’s what the end of the world was missing. To Clines’ credit, I didn’t cringe into non-existence reading the way he writes sex. But the “romance” happens immediately like the flip of a switch (not at first sight, which I might have been fine with. No sir, this happens well into the book, after the two have so far been at what some might call loggerheads), and I honestly don’t think it mattered in any way to the story - except in letting Clines sneak in a couple of lines of horny dialogue.

The author’s whimsy extends further than just the romance, where characters have intense reactions to the realisation that they’re from a different reality when Clines pleases, and silently resign themselves to their fates when Clines doesn’t.

But it stands that things are happening too fast to notice these little inconsistencies. The bottom line is, despite its flaws, it’s a fun ride.

I didn’t know that The Fold was an extension of the universe the author had started building in his earlier book 14, until after I finished reading this one. And that, put the ending in perspective for me. It had the smell of a TV show that’s not sure if it’d be returning for another season and ties up enough ends that it’s not a cliffhanger and you get closure, but still makes sure to set something even larger up, piquing your interest, so that, should it be renewed, it can coast on its success.