January 22 Book Review

Y’all, I didn’t think it was possible. I stated publicly that in no way was I trying to outdo the amount of reading I did in 2021 in 2022. Yet here I am and without trying I totally read 13 books this past month! It helped that work was a little slower and that I am reading The Witcher books and they are very fun. But yeah! 13 books. I’m not looking to recreate that again in 2022 but I wasn’t trying in January so maybe it is possible to out-read my 2021 total!

Terror on a Treasure Hunt

By: Winter Morgan

If one could ever go so far to say that “the plot thickens” in this series THIS would be the book. I personally, like Mr. Anarchy. Its also interesting to stop for a moment and think that in the Minecraft world many of the users are children. Thinking of these ageless-seeming characters as children changed my perspective a bit. Vor was still enthusiastically following along at this point so onward to the final couple of books in this series!

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Propaganda

By: Edward Bernays

This book was a weird read. I didn’t look at when the original copyright was until after I finished and the WHOLE time I was trying to place it in history so I could think about it in the context of the day and I COULD NOT! It was written in 1928. I was shocked, honestly, that it is that old even though context clues were definitely hinting at it, I kept wanting it to be much more recent. Mr. Bernays would be absolutely shocked to see how propaganda has been applied since this book first came into print. I mean the man was thinking of it as an almost benign way of government and business interacting with its constituency but then again he had yet to see what the Nazis would do with it let alone how political parties function today. Worth the read if you’re into media, marketing, sociology, or people who have really put their foot in their mouths over time.

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Ghastly Battle

By: Winter Morgan

Well I’ll be…In this installment Winter Morgan actually toys around with some character development! The mains are all still around and people are getting briefed and mobs are popping up out of nowhere and all the regular fare for your Minecraft fan-fic. But maybe, actually, some of the characters are growing a little and learning from the past. There’s another book yet to go in this series so I guess we have to wait to see if the changes stick.

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The Last Wish

By: Andrzej Sapkowski

I love the short story format. I love the dialog. I love that in the background there is a very ominous texture coagulating. I love the allusion to humans and cultural elements from our current, real universe. I love the explanation of magic. I love that so much of what is going on is a bit of a mystery. I feel an epic story brewing and I am very excited to keep reading! For those of you who have watched the show - yes this covers some of the same ground that the first season of the show does. I still recommend reading it for deeper comprehension and especially if you plan to read the other books. The books are vastly more complex than the show and you will want all the extra background info you can pick up!

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Creeper Invasion

I really rather enjoyed the Steve and the Diamond Sword series by Winter Morgan. But this series is banal and so repetitive! I’m trying to listen and it is HARD. Vor, still loving it. Five books in and its the same book for the 5th time. Someone, no resolution. Not a fave.

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Sword of Destiny

By: Andrzej Sapkowski

Where to begin? The Show. I’ll start with the show. Part of this book still coincide with the show but if you are following along in the visual format, this is where reading the book would really start to fill things in. Additionally, if you don’t read these shorts you miss out on details that come much deeper into play in later books. Furthermore, you miss out on vignettes from Gors Velen featuring Molnar and the dwarves are some of the best characters imo.

This is on audible so I’m listening along and Peter Kenny is killing it! Y’all gotta know by now that I am a sucker for a good narrator and this man has some range! Top tier for sure.

As for the book itself, the vice grip of impending war and chaos is tightening in this book. I like book Yennefer WAY, better than tv Yen although I think that will change as the tv series catches up with Yen’s character development. The theme of destiny in this book is very interesting in the way it is teased out. Does it matter? Does it not? The book is another collection of short stories which I find myself really liking. I don’t mind that time is somewhat disjointed. If you want to read the series you are just going to have to get comfortable with that.

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Blood of Elves

By Andrzej Sapkowski

What I didn't address while reviewing the last book that I need to address in this review is this: the translator is a fucking boss. I keep marveling at the diction and then I realize these books have all been translated from Polish to English and my mind is fucking blown.

In this book I finally got to know Ciri as more than a pawn of destiny. She is innocent enough but there is definitely some foreshadowing about her having a darker nature or at least a dark side.

There is a lot going on. Really its all the same background that has been bubbling the whole time in The Last Wish and The Sword of Destiny but in this book the concurrent political events are of equal importance to the more condensed story of the mains.

This is one of those books where the author plays with space/time by revealing layers of meaning through a variety of POVs. If you want a straight forward answer for questions in your book, you may think twice about embarking on this journey. If you enjoy plots unraveling in slow and methodical ways then you are likely to really get into this series.

The map is extensive, the video game is epic, the fandom is fully engaged. I find those all to be perks and at this third book in there series am fully committed to this series. Great high fantasy!

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History of Bourbon

By: Ken Albala

Meh. This was definitely not a podcast but it felt almost like a podcast. I am not a fan of podcasts, generally speaking. I do like info about random things. This book satisfied some of that drive for me to pick up more information. But it also felt like more for more’s sake. This history of bourbon wasn’t contextualized to give it any historical weight or significance. This book was comprised mainly of the following three parts: facts about bourbon, the history of the bourbon market, the author’s own thoughts and feelings or experiences with bourbon. Didn’t hate it didn’t love it.

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The Time of Contempt

By: Andrzej Sapkowski

So far this was my favorite book in the series. I love the dynamic between Ciri and Yennefer. I think rebellious but innocent Ciri is fun and cute. The interactions between Yennefer and Geralt at the sorcerer’s ball as well as Geralt’s individual charades were very funny and endearing. But I also had a sense that shit was about to go down and it really did go down in this book.

Ciri has a Muad’dib moment in the Korath desert that was amazing and totally unexpected. This book played on my emotions more than the others as yet. All the aforementioned good features of the previous books continue. The very elaborate plot also thickens.

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On Color

By: David Scott Kastan

Random but enriching. There was a little science, a good bit of history, and a certain poetry to this book. It was written for the sake of writing about color. In a way, it feels frivolous. There was no message or meaning or over-arching theme except that maybe “we all see color differently.” Nonetheless it felt good to read it for all of those same reasons. Just shy of beautiful it still has a grace about it. Not my most favorite book of all time but I like the way my ideas of color have softened a little after reading On Color.

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Baptism of Fire

By Andrzej Sapkowski

To me, things slow down a lot in this book. Whereas before the story was moving over the timeframe of weeks and months, here, we are slogging a few days at a time through various character’s POV. This is an observation not a complaint. Geralt goes through some really gnarly shit but is surrounded by awesome people that keep his story fresh and fun. Regis becomes a new favorite for me, personally. The vignette of “the bridge” was amazing and another hint at “destiny.”

Meanwhile Ciri is going through some shit. At this point pretty much the only true protagonist is Geralt. Shit is kinda confusing but not so much that its annoying, but just enough to keep me on my toes.

BoF and the series as a whole has taken on a bit of a LOTR feeling. There is a lot of questing and journeying going on at this stage in the story. I’m very curious where this is all going.

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Wishes and Wellingtons

By: Julie Berry

Vor really liked this book. I liked the setting and the characters but the story felt like it could have lingered longer and explored the fantastical element a bit more. For a story that was built around having a personal genie, there was rather limited magic and adventure.

I rather liked the message and how various plot points worked themselves out. There is a second installment available and I liked it enough to pick up with round 2.

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The Tower of Swallow

By: Anrzej Sapkowski

Some AWESOME vignettes in this book. The story is very complex at this point but with the introduction of a few well actualized characters the plot unfolds in a very interesting way. It’s kind of crazy how many questions get raised throughout the series and that even at this stage more questions are being raised. The story runs so seamlessly from book to book I have to go back and reference what is happening in each. Likewise in each book there are really beautiful character driven moments as well as brilliant dialog and awesome fantasy-scapes. I mentioned that they dialog is good enough to be extracted in large segments for the show but I didnt linger so I’ll go back now. At times it is poignant, scary, and even gut-bustlingly funny. 👏👏👏 so. good.

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September Book Drop

This month I read fewer books. Why? In August I was sick in bed with Covid for about two weeks straight, and I had a lot of catching up to do. Furthermore, I took a small beach vacay at the end of the month and did less listening/reading. Finally, I needed some time to digest Iron Gold and Dark Age. 😩😢😤

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Iron Gold

By: Pierce Brown

Everything that happens in this book sets up Dark Age. Unlike my usual, clinical, and spoiler-free reviews, this one CONTAINS SPOILERS. As I suspected, democracy does not take root too well in the soil The Society has left behind. There are hold-out factions of Golds both in the inner planets and the outer planets. As one might expect from so bellicose a people, they are not going down quietly. Additionally, there is a displacement of the populace from their customary caste pursuits. Rather than having an answer to that issue, there is general chaos for anyone who did not come from means. Reds are in refugee camps, the Obsidians are barely being held in check by Sefi, and throughout the book, tension continues to build. The democracy that The Rising built is tenuous at best, even though each of the colors now has representation. In short, no one is happy. Except for, maybe, Sophocles. That’s what is going down around the inner planets. Meanwhile, Cassius and Lysander are stumbling into folly after folly in the rim with the Moon Lords. Romulus is probably my favorite non-central character. Between his screed in Morning Star and his exit in this novel, the man is just fucking epic. Now that THAT opinion is out of the way, let’s get back to Cassius and Lysander. I hate Lysander. I hated Lysander from the moment they happen upon the distressed ship. My burning loathing for him only intensified as this and Dark Age continued. Some would argue on his behalf - that he is a product of his upbringing. Certainly, therein lies a kernel of truth. Nonetheless, if that motherfucker isn’t a textbook sociopath then I ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Given, the way PB wrote his inner monologue in Iron Gold vs. Dark Age is different. It is more subtle. His narcissism is easier to miss. He has a semblance of care for Cassius in Iron Gold. But more than his “love” of Cassius is a disdain for him, which is peppered in finely. Think about it this way, those of you who have read the book - Darrow was never fully trustworthy as a POV character throughout the whole first trilogy. He often lied to himself about his feelings or motives. Lysander is no different. When he says he “loves” someone, do not take him at his word. I want to say more, but I will refrain. The Lysander storyline features prominently throughout Iron Gold. If you endeavor to read these books, you need to go in as an unspoiled virgin to have the truest experience. I would be remiss to neglect Apollonius and his 2-kilo steak and air violin. He is magnificent, but by the end, you can add him to the long list of people ceremonially calling Darrow’s name before battle. I’ll wrap this up by saying I was the happy little frog in the slowly heating pot for this entire book. There were moments of loss ala PB. There were also fast-paced vignettes. But in hindsight, it was all a bloody damn trick to get you to read Dark Age.

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Dark Age

By: Pierce Brown

Ya know, I thought The Triumph easily trumped The Red Wedding (ASOIF). I said to myself then, “Damn. That Pierce Brown knows how to write a tragic scene and make me really feel it.” The Triumph, and The Jackal’s little box, and Ragnar, and Nerol, and, and, and… It was all a lot, but I felt like I could handle it. This book. Fuck this book. Not really. But kinda, yes. There was so much to process that some of the most profound losses did not even register. The last few hundred pages are nearly unrelenting. It was a vice from beginning to end. Just when I thought I was going to crack, indeed, I was sobbing uncontrollably, the vice loosened by a fraction of an inch. There really isn’t too much more to say. This is the best book of the series, and they have all been phenomenal. The only thing left is for me to double down on my FUCK LYSANDER stance. BUT, now that I’ve taken a hard line, PB may pull some shit out of nowhere and make me consider Lysander as redeemable all over again. I await this next book with great fear and anticipation.

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Amusing Ourselves to Death

By: Neil Postman

Wow. This is such an interesting book to read from a historical perspective. As early as the advent of TV, the author of this book, was able to forecast its negative impact on society. Fast-forward to now. The trends identified in this book have only become more exacerbated. The negative social impact of TV has only become more pronounced now that we are also contending with social media. Reading AOTD was a great exercise in extrapolation. If you have been interested in the multitude of research that has been released about Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok re: aberrant social behavior and negative self-image, this book is up your alley. Also of note, the author only lived to the early 2000’s and I suspect is currently rolling in his grave at about 10,000 revolutions per minute.

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Brave New World

By: Aldous Huxley

After reading Amusing Ourselves To Death, I had to go back for a re-read of BNW. Most people probably know this; in case you don’t, the long and short of it is a society controlled through distraction. The element that jumps out at me the most is the “Feelies.” It is mind-boggling that this book remains cutting edge. With VR and wearable tech, our society is definitely on the cusp of realizing “the Feelies.” In fact, I was postulating with a friend that the only thing that will be able to unseat a 5-15s video meme in our collective attentions is a medium through which we can experience our distractions of choice as if first-hand. For its continued relevancy and character studies, I definitely am glad I circled back for a re-read. BNW is a classic for a reason.

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The Stand-In

By: Lily Chu

Lesson learned. Read the whole synopsis. The first few lines of this book’s summary are outlined as a list. Lists are a theme in the book. It makes sense. The surface-level premise of a life-changing identity mix-up sounded fun. I was in. Then I realized that it was also a bit of a romance novel. I clicked back to see if that was mentioned anywhere in the summary. Yes, if you “read more” it was there. If you are into soft-core porny romance this is not for you. In that regard, it is more YA. But I don’t really dig that genre, so all the cute flirting and thrill of the chase felt like a guilty pleasure for me even though it was innocent enough. TSI was written in 1st person. I found that to be a great way to get to know the cast of characters. I felt invested in Gracie like a friend by the end of it. I didn’t see the twist coming until it was almost upon me, too. Yes, there is a twist. Overall snappy writing, great characters, and fun. After the first two books of this month, TSI was a welcome upbeat palette cleanse.

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Battle For The Nether

By: Mark Cheverton

NERD ALERT!!1! I had read a fair amount of Minecraft-related books now. There are several series by Winter Morgan that are not literary classics but totally enjoyable for a mom and 5-year-old to read together. Bonus fact: many of said books are narrated by Luke Daniels, a fantastic narrator, and author to boot. But this is not Winter Morgan's Minecraft. BFTN is fan fiction that reaches a little too far, imo. It strives to teach moral high ground. It manages to do as much but with little finesse. You can subtract additional points if you're listening on Audible. I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find a narrator that sounds as nerdy as the subject matter but this guy really nailed it.

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Consider Phlebas

By: Iain M. Banks

My favorite aspect of this book was the end. I don’t mean that facetiously. I was unimpressed by the novel as a whole. I thought the characters were rather bland. The world-building felt Star Warsian in the sense that it felt like some things were done for absurdity-sake. The author wields violence and crudity in a ham-handed fashion. In juxtaposition with Red Rising, where all the violence feels terrible but necessary, in CP the violence and grossness feels like it is just there to make you squirm. CP was one of the novels that upon completing, I felt like I needed to take to the internet to understand "why?" I actually found a satisfying answer from the author, himself. But the fact that he had to write the "why" out separately from the novel seems like maybe there was an opportunity to have better illustrated it within the text, itself. As I said before, the end is where the discerning reader may be able to extract the "why" in-line with the story. I couldn't quite excavate it on my own but did come away with the sense that the end was satisfactory even if the process of reading the book was not quite the experience I was hoping for.

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