A review by tempse
Academic Exercises by K.J. Parker
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
What an interesting collection of short stories! Some of them are intricate and comparatively long, others are concise and more straightforward. Some are fantastic stories, others are historical treatises on aspects of warfare. Most of the stories are set in more or less the same world, but they are all unique in terms of setting, themes, and plot.
What all the stories have in common, however, is Parker's characteristically sharp prose, which grabs the reader's attention from beginning to end. For a Parker fan like myself, it's also interesting to see how he develops certain themes, world elements, and aspects of his magic system in Academic Exercises, which he also uses throughout his other works.
I won't comment on every single story in Academic Exercises, but I do want to highlight six of them:
Hands down, my favorite stories in the collection are "Purple and Black" (5 stars), "Blue and Gold" (5 stars), and "A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong" (4.5 stars). They are all perfect examples of Parker's remarkable ability to tell a compelling story with brilliant characters in just a few pages.
The other set of notable entries is "On Sieges," "Cutting Edge Technology," and "Rich Men's Skin." These are short and interesting historical overviews of the development of siege technology/tactics, sword making/fighting, and armor making, respectively, set in our real world.
Academic Exercises contains some absolutely incredible 5-star stories, but also some entries that are closer to 3.5 stars for me. On average, this entertaining collection was a solid 4-star read.
What all the stories have in common, however, is Parker's characteristically sharp prose, which grabs the reader's attention from beginning to end. For a Parker fan like myself, it's also interesting to see how he develops certain themes, world elements, and aspects of his magic system in Academic Exercises, which he also uses throughout his other works.
I won't comment on every single story in Academic Exercises, but I do want to highlight six of them:
Hands down, my favorite stories in the collection are "Purple and Black" (5 stars), "Blue and Gold" (5 stars), and "A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong" (4.5 stars). They are all perfect examples of Parker's remarkable ability to tell a compelling story with brilliant characters in just a few pages.
The other set of notable entries is "On Sieges," "Cutting Edge Technology," and "Rich Men's Skin." These are short and interesting historical overviews of the development of siege technology/tactics, sword making/fighting, and armor making, respectively, set in our real world.
Academic Exercises contains some absolutely incredible 5-star stories, but also some entries that are closer to 3.5 stars for me. On average, this entertaining collection was a solid 4-star read.