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rikuson1's reviews
78 reviews
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I Liked It đ
-â â â ââ- (3.75/5.00)
My Grading Score = 75% (B)
The setup for this book made it feel like this would be yet another one of the books that I would come out not really caring for. And it wasn't until the Calypso chapter that I found myself actually changing my mind about this one. It's actually changing my mind on the series once again, especially after Book 4. Although I did not care for the dream moments Percy was going through or honestly anything to do with the Labyrinth itself, I still ended up liking this book by the end and it's mostly because I found the characters to be stronger than the plot this go around.
Characters
The only character in the starting portion that was interesting to me was actually the new character Rachel. I feel like she was a delightful addition. I also enjoyed the fact that Annabeth does not like her presence. I have read little interactions with female characters, not liking each other, so it was entertaining for me. Nico, a character that was annoying and frustrating for the entire last book, and most of this book actually finally started to warm up to me by the end. Grover (along with Annabeth) returned as a character at the forefront of this story, and I felt like not having the trio in the previous book caused some of my disinterest in that adventure. Having them back did bring a very some sense of nostalgia to have them back. Both Grover and Annabeth had some decent moments, especially Grover now having a girlfriend and somewhat accomplishing his goal that has been set up since book 1.
Verdict
Percy Jackson Book 4, The Battle of the Labyrinth, surprised me. To be honest, when it started, I was not really feeling it and especially coming off of Book 3, and I wondered if I'm going to look back on this series more negatively than positively. I was begging to think that the magic, allure and level of charm in the first book was a onetime thing and although it did not reach that same level Book 4 is arguably and probably the best written one thus far but my level of enjoyment still has me putting book 1 over this one. Nonetheless, this one is my 2nd favorite.
I Liked It
-â â â ââ- (3.75/5.00)
My Grading Score = 75% (B)
The setup for this book made it feel like this would be yet another one of the books that I would come out not really caring for. And it wasn't until the Calypso chapter that I found myself actually changing my mind about this one. It's actually changing my mind on the series once again, especially after Book 4. Although I did not care for the dream moments Percy was going through or honestly anything to do with the Labyrinth itself, I still ended up liking this book by the end and it's mostly because I found the characters to be stronger than the plot this go around.
Characters
The only character in the starting portion that was interesting to me was actually the new character Rachel. I feel like she was a delightful addition. I also enjoyed the fact that Annabeth does not like her presence. I have read little interactions with female characters, not liking each other, so it was entertaining for me. Nico, a character that was annoying and frustrating for the entire last book, and most of this book actually finally started to warm up to me by the end. Grover (along with Annabeth) returned as a character at the forefront of this story, and I felt like not having the trio in the previous book caused some of my disinterest in that adventure. Having them back did bring a very some sense of nostalgia to have them back. Both Grover and Annabeth had some decent moments, especially Grover now having a girlfriend and somewhat accomplishing his goal that has been set up since book 1.
Verdict
Percy Jackson Book 4, The Battle of the Labyrinth, surprised me. To be honest, when it started, I was not really feeling it and especially coming off of Book 3, and I wondered if I'm going to look back on this series more negatively than positively. I was begging to think that the magic, allure and level of charm in the first book was a onetime thing and although it did not reach that same level Book 4 is arguably and probably the best written one thus far but my level of enjoyment still has me putting book 1 over this one. Nonetheless, this one is my 2nd favorite.
I Liked It
An Echo of things to come by James Islington
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I Liked It
-â â â ââ- (3.75/5.00) đ
My Grading Score = 75% (B)
An Echo of Things to Come is quite hefty of a book. It took me quite a while to finish this one because, although it never got painfully boring, it never got to a point that was mind-blowing. But it did remain solidly written and relatively entertaining the entire time. The four main POVs I felt were, for the most, the part equally entertaining throughout. They all had their fair share of memorable moments, and none of them to me felt like a POV I didn't want to be on, so that's a good thing. And I also did enjoy the lore dumpy parts they were actually interesting enough to pay attention to.
Verdict
I do think that An Echo of Things to Come is definitely better than the Shadow of What Was Lost, which I did feel that book it have some frustratingly boring portions whether it was uninteresting or just confusing because of the way the plot is written which was in a way that was deliberately meant to be pay off for later. An Echo of Things to come felt like it did answer many of the questions that the first book set up and it didn't leave too many question left for the third book to answer, which is not a bad thing, it just meant I have a more clear pathway to what is needed to be expected for the finale book. So for that, it did feel like a more satisfying experience to me.
I Like It
-â â â ââ- (3.75/5.00) đ
My Grading Score = 75% (B)
An Echo of Things to Come is quite hefty of a book. It took me quite a while to finish this one because, although it never got painfully boring, it never got to a point that was mind-blowing. But it did remain solidly written and relatively entertaining the entire time. The four main POVs I felt were, for the most, the part equally entertaining throughout. They all had their fair share of memorable moments, and none of them to me felt like a POV I didn't want to be on, so that's a good thing. And I also did enjoy the lore dumpy parts they were actually interesting enough to pay attention to.
Verdict
I do think that An Echo of Things to Come is definitely better than the Shadow of What Was Lost, which I did feel that book it have some frustratingly boring portions whether it was uninteresting or just confusing because of the way the plot is written which was in a way that was deliberately meant to be pay off for later. An Echo of Things to come felt like it did answer many of the questions that the first book set up and it didn't leave too many question left for the third book to answer, which is not a bad thing, it just meant I have a more clear pathway to what is needed to be expected for the finale book. So for that, it did feel like a more satisfying experience to me.
I Like It
Sonic the Hedgehog: the IDW Collection, Vol. 4 by Evan Stanley, Ian Flynn
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I Really Liked It đ
-â â â â â- (4.00/5.00)
My Grading Score = 80% (B+)
The IDW Collection Volume 4 comprises Saga 3: Eggman's Legacy (which is why they decided to use him as the cover for this one, so it's fitting). I can see how some may feel coming into this Saga feeling lukewarm, especially after Saga 2: The Metal Virus, which was a high for the arcs so far. And just because this one isn't as good does not mean it was bad by any stretch of the imagination, nor would I even say it's lukewarm, disappointing, or anything of the such. We got a handful of fun adventures, really utilizing a delightful combination of the traditional Sonic characters along with the IDW characters. Additionally, Stanley provides us with an arc that starts off with an impressively fun and well written Chao Race that was so charming. The usage of Shadow could have given us more sure, but I don't think it was enough to ruin the arc like some would state. The arc after this also had very fun callbacks with enemies like the Egg Viper.
Verdict
Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection Volume 4 although not on the level of the previous arcs I don't think it was trying to compete with it in the same way, it was a pleasant change of pace from the high stakes arc that was Saga 2: The Metal Virus.
I Really Liked It.
-â â â â â- (4.00/5.00)
My Grading Score = 80% (B+)
The IDW Collection Volume 4 comprises Saga 3: Eggman's Legacy (which is why they decided to use him as the cover for this one, so it's fitting). I can see how some may feel coming into this Saga feeling lukewarm, especially after Saga 2: The Metal Virus, which was a high for the arcs so far. And just because this one isn't as good does not mean it was bad by any stretch of the imagination, nor would I even say it's lukewarm, disappointing, or anything of the such. We got a handful of fun adventures, really utilizing a delightful combination of the traditional Sonic characters along with the IDW characters. Additionally, Stanley provides us with an arc that starts off with an impressively fun and well written Chao Race that was so charming. The usage of Shadow could have given us more sure, but I don't think it was enough to ruin the arc like some would state. The arc after this also had very fun callbacks with enemies like the Egg Viper.
Verdict
Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection Volume 4 although not on the level of the previous arcs I don't think it was trying to compete with it in the same way, it was a pleasant change of pace from the high stakes arc that was Saga 2: The Metal Virus.
I Really Liked It.
The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu
dark
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It Was Amazing đ¤Š
-â â â â â - (5.00/5.00)
My Grading Score = 100% (S)
The connection that a parent and child can have with each other and the tragedy that can occur when there is a hard disconnect between the two is something that I feel was executed to a masterclass level here in the short story. There's not much that can be said that I feel would do justice to how great this short story is and how it was all portrayed, and I can understand why this won awards.
Verdict
The Paper Menagerie is one of my new favorite short stories of all time. I absolutely loved basically everything about it. It is very impressive that Ken Liu, in something that only lasted thirty-two pages, can make me feel a way that I couldn't fathom feeling with that length.
It Was Amazing
-â â â â â - (5.00/5.00)
My Grading Score = 100% (S)
The connection that a parent and child can have with each other and the tragedy that can occur when there is a hard disconnect between the two is something that I feel was executed to a masterclass level here in the short story. There's not much that can be said that I feel would do justice to how great this short story is and how it was all portrayed, and I can understand why this won awards.
Verdict
The Paper Menagerie is one of my new favorite short stories of all time. I absolutely loved basically everything about it. It is very impressive that Ken Liu, in something that only lasted thirty-two pages, can make me feel a way that I couldn't fathom feeling with that length.
It Was Amazing
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I Liked It đ
-â â â ââ- (3.00/5.00)
My Grading Score = 60% (C)
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, now I understand why the other stories are simply "other stories" no offense to most of them or Ken Liu but I can understand why these other stories were not given as big of an attention compared to The Paper Menagerie itself, the other stories that are on its level are few and far and between in my opinion. But they were great. I even ended up liking one more than The Paper Menagerie itself (The Perfect Match).
The other stories, though, are what brought the overall score down so much for me a lot. They can vary so much in what they offer in that you could absolutely love one and dislike other following it, a handful of them felt like the message was more important than telling an engaging story while others felt like they cared far more about the concept and/or idea of what is being presented than the story. In both cases the plot and characters in those stories either took a back seat or were not fleshed out enough for me and when that happens unfortunately they started to lose me hard when their lengths are sometimes more than triple the size of the stories in here that I did love. I can also understand that there just may be some regional nuances that Ken Liu wanted to express and probably did so in a justifying way and I am just not someone who can appreciate whatever certain stories were going for since, like I stated the message sometimes felt like the most important aspect.
The Short Stories in Order in which they are presented.
1) The Booking Habits of Select Species
2) State Change
3) The Perfect Match
4) Good Hunting
5) The Literomancer
6) Simulacrum
7) The Regular
8) The Paper Menagerie
9) An Advanced Readers' Picture Book of Comparative Cognition
10) The Waves
11) Mono No Aware
12) All the Flavors
13) A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel
14) The Litigation Master and the Monkey King
15) The Man Who Ended History
My Rating and Ranking of each of them
1st - The Perfect Match = 5/5
2nd - The Paper Menagerie = 5/5
3rd - Simulacrum = 4.75/5
4th - State Change = 4/5
5th - Good Hunting = 3.50/5
6th - The Regular = 3.50/5
7th - The LM & the MK = 3.50/5
8th - The Man Who Ended History = 3/10
9th - All The Flavors = 3/5
10th - Mono No Aware = 2.75/5
11th - A Brief History of the TPT= 2.75/5
12th - The Waves = 2.75/5
13th - The Literomancer = 2.50/5
14th - The Booking Habits of SS = 2.50/5
15th - An Advanced Readers' PB of CC= 2.50/5
Verdict
Overall, as a whole, I'd say unfortunately I was disappointed if I'm looking at them as a compilation of stories. The ones that shined brightly most certainly did, but the ones that did not really turn me off and those heavily outweighed the great ones. Nonetheless and overall, I still came out not hating it and appreciating it all since Ken Liu's prose was still a pro.
I liked It.
-â â â ââ- (3.00/5.00)
My Grading Score = 60% (C)
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, now I understand why the other stories are simply "other stories" no offense to most of them or Ken Liu but I can understand why these other stories were not given as big of an attention compared to The Paper Menagerie itself, the other stories that are on its level are few and far and between in my opinion. But they were great. I even ended up liking one more than The Paper Menagerie itself (The Perfect Match).
The other stories, though, are what brought the overall score down so much for me a lot. They can vary so much in what they offer in that you could absolutely love one and dislike other following it, a handful of them felt like the message was more important than telling an engaging story while others felt like they cared far more about the concept and/or idea of what is being presented than the story. In both cases the plot and characters in those stories either took a back seat or were not fleshed out enough for me and when that happens unfortunately they started to lose me hard when their lengths are sometimes more than triple the size of the stories in here that I did love. I can also understand that there just may be some regional nuances that Ken Liu wanted to express and probably did so in a justifying way and I am just not someone who can appreciate whatever certain stories were going for since, like I stated the message sometimes felt like the most important aspect.
The Short Stories in Order in which they are presented.
1) The Booking Habits of Select Species
2) State Change
3) The Perfect Match
4) Good Hunting
5) The Literomancer
6) Simulacrum
7) The Regular
8) The Paper Menagerie
9) An Advanced Readers' Picture Book of Comparative Cognition
10) The Waves
11) Mono No Aware
12) All the Flavors
13) A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel
14) The Litigation Master and the Monkey King
15) The Man Who Ended History
My Rating and Ranking of each of them
1st - The Perfect Match = 5/5
2nd - The Paper Menagerie = 5/5
3rd - Simulacrum = 4.75/5
4th - State Change = 4/5
5th - Good Hunting = 3.50/5
6th - The Regular = 3.50/5
7th - The LM & the MK = 3.50/5
8th - The Man Who Ended History = 3/10
9th - All The Flavors = 3/5
10th - Mono No Aware = 2.75/5
11th - A Brief History of the TPT= 2.75/5
12th - The Waves = 2.75/5
13th - The Literomancer = 2.50/5
14th - The Booking Habits of SS = 2.50/5
15th - An Advanced Readers' PB of CC= 2.50/5
Verdict
Overall, as a whole, I'd say unfortunately I was disappointed if I'm looking at them as a compilation of stories. The ones that shined brightly most certainly did, but the ones that did not really turn me off and those heavily outweighed the great ones. Nonetheless and overall, I still came out not hating it and appreciating it all since Ken Liu's prose was still a pro.
I liked It.
I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I Really Liked It đ
-â â â â âŦ- (4.25/5.00)
My Grading Letter Score = 85% (A-)
I am not a serial killer is the first physiological, horror-thriller like book I've read. I love movies like this, but I wasn't sure if I'd like it in a novel format. I did not think I'd have the same feeling of fear from the immersion a movie could have onto. And I was right. Although I was not spooked, I was definitely engrossed and engaged for essentially the entire book, which was definitely good enough. I felt the pacing moved like it had a prompt purpose for everything, and I was very engrossed with the main character, the villain, and the secondary supporting casts.
Verdict
Being a fan of Brandon Sanderson, and someone who watches a lot of his podcast Intentionally Blank with his co-host Dan Wells, I felt it was fitting for me to give one of his books a go as a pallette cleanser from the many long and dense high fantasy books I've been reading. And I am glad to say that this book did its job for me.
I Really Liked It
-â â â â âŦ- (4.25/5.00)
My Grading Letter Score = 85% (A-)
I am not a serial killer is the first physiological, horror-thriller like book I've read. I love movies like this, but I wasn't sure if I'd like it in a novel format. I did not think I'd have the same feeling of fear from the immersion a movie could have onto. And I was right. Although I was not spooked, I was definitely engrossed and engaged for essentially the entire book, which was definitely good enough. I felt the pacing moved like it had a prompt purpose for everything, and I was very engrossed with the main character, the villain, and the secondary supporting casts.
Verdict
Being a fan of Brandon Sanderson, and someone who watches a lot of his podcast Intentionally Blank with his co-host Dan Wells, I felt it was fitting for me to give one of his books a go as a pallette cleanser from the many long and dense high fantasy books I've been reading. And I am glad to say that this book did its job for me.
I Really Liked It
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
It Was Okay đļ
-â â âŽââ- (2.50/5.00)
My Grading Score = 50% (D+)
Book 3 in Percy Jackson, The Titan's Curse was a book I was trying to use as a pallette cleanser book from the long and dense fantasy books I've been reading and although this read was short, I wouldn't call it a sweet one. I guess it has something to do with the fact that these books are meant specifically for a younger audience? So when it comes to the charm and luster that it's supposed to have (and probably does) it seems like that got old after Book 1 because I liked Book 2 less than Book 1 and this less than Book 2 and I heard people consider this one of the stronger ones which could have fooled me. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Annabelle is not a part of this story arc, Percy and Artemis are mostly the focus of this book above everyone else who felt like they were supposed to be as important as them but it didn't feel as such to me. Events were occurring to them, and characters actually died in the process, but for some reason, even with the setup that they were given, I felt nothing, unfortunately. The start tried to thrust us into a conflict with a villain I found to be very corny and then they throw us back into another capture the flag mini arc which at this point felt repetitive and I do not even remember the events of it this go around.
Verdit
I don't think this book is one that I genuinely disliked overall since it was short enough for it not to overstay. It's not bad, but for me, this was by far the weakest entry, and I hope that books 4 and 5 are stronger.
It Was Okay
-â â âŽââ- (2.50/5.00)
My Grading Score = 50% (D+)
Book 3 in Percy Jackson, The Titan's Curse was a book I was trying to use as a pallette cleanser book from the long and dense fantasy books I've been reading and although this read was short, I wouldn't call it a sweet one. I guess it has something to do with the fact that these books are meant specifically for a younger audience? So when it comes to the charm and luster that it's supposed to have (and probably does) it seems like that got old after Book 1 because I liked Book 2 less than Book 1 and this less than Book 2 and I heard people consider this one of the stronger ones which could have fooled me. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Annabelle is not a part of this story arc, Percy and Artemis are mostly the focus of this book above everyone else who felt like they were supposed to be as important as them but it didn't feel as such to me. Events were occurring to them, and characters actually died in the process, but for some reason, even with the setup that they were given, I felt nothing, unfortunately. The start tried to thrust us into a conflict with a villain I found to be very corny and then they throw us back into another capture the flag mini arc which at this point felt repetitive and I do not even remember the events of it this go around.
Verdit
I don't think this book is one that I genuinely disliked overall since it was short enough for it not to overstay. It's not bad, but for me, this was by far the weakest entry, and I hope that books 4 and 5 are stronger.
It Was Okay
A Madman's Diary, and Other Stories by Lu Xun
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I Did Not Like It đ
-â ââââ- (1.75/5.00)
My Grading Score = 35% (E+)
Now, there is a reason I read this book and a shallow one nonetheless.
I am a Dynasty Warriors fan (a video game franchise), and I have been since the early 2000s. My favorite character on there is Lu Xun. When I was young, I remember googling to look up details about Lu Xun, and usually, the first hit would be this author right here. At first, I was confused because I knew this wasn't the person I was trying to look up. Back then, I wasn't a reader of books, so I cared not for this person but knew of them because of the mistake of always running into his name because he shared names with the tactician of Wu. Now that I am a reader of books I thought it would be interesting to check out what he's wrote for the sake of him sharing the same name as Lu Xun who by the way I used Lu Xun's Japanese name as my overall online alias name Rikuson, so I felt a tad bit of obligation to at least see what he's written. I did find it interesting that Romance of the Three Kingdoms is mentioned twice or so within this book, so it comes full circle in that aspect in some way.
Getting to the actual book, though. Unfortunately, for the most part, every single story in the collection of short stories was either okay or I simply did not like it and/or just did not understand the philosophical meaning or themes that the specific story was trying to go for. I understand that there are heavy historical and political context that underline most of if not all of the short stories in this collection and I unfortunately do not, nor did I or do I care not to know about the context behind it.
Doing so did severely hinder my appreciation for whatever Lu Xun was trying to go for because without context, I do not think these short stories hold up on their own without it. So, fair warning going into them, if you want to enjoy it more, research beforehand definitely seems to be recommended.
With that being said, I did rate each of the stories out of five, round them up together, and gave an overall score based on all of their points.
1) Regrets for the Past = 3.75/5
2) The Flight to the Moon = 2.75/5
2) Diary of a Madman = 2.50/5
3) Kung I-Chung = 2.50/5
4) The True Story of Ah-Q = 2.50/5
6) Forging of Swords = 2.50/5
7) SOAP = 2.25/5
8) The Divorce = 2.25/5
9) My Old Home = 2.25/5
10) The Misanthrope = 2/5
11) The New Year's Sacrifice = 2/5
13) A Happy Family = 1.75/5
14) Storm in a Teacup = 1.50/5
15) Medicine = 1.25/5
16) Village Opera = 1.25/5
17) Tomorrow = 1/5
18) Incident = 1/5
Verdict
Like stated before, if you want to get the best experience out of these short stories, do your research on the political context and history behind it all because most of the stories just as they are in my opinion do not hold up without it, so overall, unfortunately,
I Did Not Like It
-â ââââ- (1.75/5.00)
My Grading Score = 35% (E+)
Now, there is a reason I read this book and a shallow one nonetheless.
I am a Dynasty Warriors fan (a video game franchise), and I have been since the early 2000s. My favorite character on there is Lu Xun. When I was young, I remember googling to look up details about Lu Xun, and usually, the first hit would be this author right here. At first, I was confused because I knew this wasn't the person I was trying to look up. Back then, I wasn't a reader of books, so I cared not for this person but knew of them because of the mistake of always running into his name because he shared names with the tactician of Wu. Now that I am a reader of books I thought it would be interesting to check out what he's wrote for the sake of him sharing the same name as Lu Xun who by the way I used Lu Xun's Japanese name as my overall online alias name Rikuson, so I felt a tad bit of obligation to at least see what he's written. I did find it interesting that Romance of the Three Kingdoms is mentioned twice or so within this book, so it comes full circle in that aspect in some way.
Getting to the actual book, though. Unfortunately, for the most part, every single story in the collection of short stories was either okay or I simply did not like it and/or just did not understand the philosophical meaning or themes that the specific story was trying to go for. I understand that there are heavy historical and political context that underline most of if not all of the short stories in this collection and I unfortunately do not, nor did I or do I care not to know about the context behind it.
Doing so did severely hinder my appreciation for whatever Lu Xun was trying to go for because without context, I do not think these short stories hold up on their own without it. So, fair warning going into them, if you want to enjoy it more, research beforehand definitely seems to be recommended.
With that being said, I did rate each of the stories out of five, round them up together, and gave an overall score based on all of their points.
1) Regrets for the Past = 3.75/5
2) The Flight to the Moon = 2.75/5
2) Diary of a Madman = 2.50/5
3) Kung I-Chung = 2.50/5
4) The True Story of Ah-Q = 2.50/5
6) Forging of Swords = 2.50/5
7) SOAP = 2.25/5
8) The Divorce = 2.25/5
9) My Old Home = 2.25/5
10) The Misanthrope = 2/5
11) The New Year's Sacrifice = 2/5
13) A Happy Family = 1.75/5
14) Storm in a Teacup = 1.50/5
15) Medicine = 1.25/5
16) Village Opera = 1.25/5
17) Tomorrow = 1/5
18) Incident = 1/5
Verdict
Like stated before, if you want to get the best experience out of these short stories, do your research on the political context and history behind it all because most of the stories just as they are in my opinion do not hold up without it, so overall, unfortunately,
I Did Not Like It
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
I Did Not Like It âšī¸
-â âŽâââ- (1.50/5.00)
My Grading Score = 30% (E)
Let's say you were recommended ice cream shop to go to, they say it's amazing you have to go try it. You asked the recommender to elaborate as to what exactly makes this ice cream amazing, and then they tell you "Well I can't really say why it's sort of a surprise you gotta go into blind bro that's the best way". So you do just that.
You go to the spot, and the guy serves you the ice cream. But he tells you that when you're given it, you must eat it blindfolded. That's what makes it special. So you oblige to this rule for some reason.
When you eat it, you realize that the only thing that resembles ice cream is the fact that it's on a cone. Because you take the blindfold off and realize you just ate spinach on a cone.
So you look up at the server and tell him, "Umm sir, this is not ice cream," and then he says back to you "uhh that doesn't really matter bro, just eat this spinach on a cone trust me you'll like it." And you're like,"Uhh no, I wanted ice cream, this is an ice cream shop, I came here for ice cream, not spinach." And then he responds, "You're missing the point, brother, just eat the spinach on a cone, trust me bro". So out of reluctance, you eat it and then be says, "So what do you give it out of 5 stars?" Your response is,"I give it a 1/5 stars." And then he says,"What the hell, man! Why?" Your response is "because I promised ice cream, but instead, you gave me spinach on a cone." The guy says, "But can you at least appreciate how good the spinach is? This is the best spinach in the world!" And then you say, "I don't give a fuck about how good your spinach is, I came here for Ice Cream, as Ice Cream this gets a 1/5 stars." He then says "But I subverted your expectations and gave you something unique, different, great even! Why can't you just appreciate this for what it is and not what you wanted?" And then you responded angrily, "YOU CALLED THIS AN ICE CREAM SHOP AND SERVED ME SPINACH ON A CONE. THAT'S NOT SUBVERSION OF EXPECTATIONS, MY BROTHER IN CHRIST YOU LIED." And then he responds."You just don't understand my genuis." You leave the store and go back to your recommendee.
So he says to you, "So it was amazing, you liked it, right?" You respond, "No, I did not." He responds. "What? What didn't you like about it?" You tell him the same thing you told the server. "That wasn't ice cream. The only thing that resembled it was the fact that it was on a cone." He responds "Well it's not about the ice cream, bro. It's bigger than that. The ice cream is just a way to get your attention so that you can eat this life changing spinach." You ask him, "then why go through the trouble of advertising it as Ice Cream in the first place if you knew from jump it wasn't about that?" And he responds "Well you'd judge the spinach on a cone and not give it a chance. Had you known it was spinach going in. You just need to appreciate the amazing spinach on a cone and the fact that it's unique. That's the point.
Verdict
This is how I felt about this book. It's 'amazing Spinach' served to you on a cone, gaslit by the people who recommend it to me (and probably you) into believing it's ice cream and although it's not about that and not what it promised itself to be, but you should love and appreciate it anyway for how unique it is what what it's actually doing because that's what truly matters. If you can do that, you'll love this book. But if you can't then you'll probably be like me. And you will leave saying the same thing I am saying right now,
I Did Not Like it.
-â âŽâââ- (1.50/5.00)
My Grading Score = 30% (E)
Let's say you were recommended ice cream shop to go to, they say it's amazing you have to go try it. You asked the recommender to elaborate as to what exactly makes this ice cream amazing, and then they tell you "Well I can't really say why it's sort of a surprise you gotta go into blind bro that's the best way". So you do just that.
You go to the spot, and the guy serves you the ice cream. But he tells you that when you're given it, you must eat it blindfolded. That's what makes it special. So you oblige to this rule for some reason.
When you eat it, you realize that the only thing that resembles ice cream is the fact that it's on a cone. Because you take the blindfold off and realize you just ate spinach on a cone.
So you look up at the server and tell him, "Umm sir, this is not ice cream," and then he says back to you "uhh that doesn't really matter bro, just eat this spinach on a cone trust me you'll like it." And you're like,"Uhh no, I wanted ice cream, this is an ice cream shop, I came here for ice cream, not spinach." And then he responds, "You're missing the point, brother, just eat the spinach on a cone, trust me bro". So out of reluctance, you eat it and then be says, "So what do you give it out of 5 stars?" Your response is,"I give it a 1/5 stars." And then he says,"What the hell, man! Why?" Your response is "because I promised ice cream, but instead, you gave me spinach on a cone." The guy says, "But can you at least appreciate how good the spinach is? This is the best spinach in the world!" And then you say, "I don't give a fuck about how good your spinach is, I came here for Ice Cream, as Ice Cream this gets a 1/5 stars." He then says "But I subverted your expectations and gave you something unique, different, great even! Why can't you just appreciate this for what it is and not what you wanted?" And then you responded angrily, "YOU CALLED THIS AN ICE CREAM SHOP AND SERVED ME SPINACH ON A CONE. THAT'S NOT SUBVERSION OF EXPECTATIONS, MY BROTHER IN CHRIST YOU LIED." And then he responds."You just don't understand my genuis." You leave the store and go back to your recommendee.
So he says to you, "So it was amazing, you liked it, right?" You respond, "No, I did not." He responds. "What? What didn't you like about it?" You tell him the same thing you told the server. "That wasn't ice cream. The only thing that resembled it was the fact that it was on a cone." He responds "Well it's not about the ice cream, bro. It's bigger than that. The ice cream is just a way to get your attention so that you can eat this life changing spinach." You ask him, "then why go through the trouble of advertising it as Ice Cream in the first place if you knew from jump it wasn't about that?" And he responds "Well you'd judge the spinach on a cone and not give it a chance. Had you known it was spinach going in. You just need to appreciate the amazing spinach on a cone and the fact that it's unique. That's the point.
Verdict
This is how I felt about this book. It's 'amazing Spinach' served to you on a cone, gaslit by the people who recommend it to me (and probably you) into believing it's ice cream and although it's not about that and not what it promised itself to be, but you should love and appreciate it anyway for how unique it is what what it's actually doing because that's what truly matters. If you can do that, you'll love this book. But if you can't then you'll probably be like me. And you will leave saying the same thing I am saying right now,
I Did Not Like it.
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
It was Okay đĨ´
-â â âââ- (2.75/5.00)
My Grading Score = 55% (C-)
I've heard about the author Naomi Novik and was interested in her main series she's mostly known for called Temeraire. But I had a schedule of books that threw that series far off with a bunch of other Dragon Rider or Dragon related fantasy novels. Until then, I did hear about her other standalone books like Uprooted and this one right here, Spinning Silver. I am a follower of the popular Booktuber Petrik. He seems like a nice young man and held this one in high regard and Uprooted not so much. So on his recommendation I decided to give this one a go as my first Naomi Novik book and although I found a few things in here to be intriguing or enjoyable for the most part it was disappointing to me.
The start is setting up a quite depressing life of the main character, Miryem, who is struggling to find her way financially. When she finds her way a tad through regaining all the debt from people owe her family and hustling is where the story brings in the second POV character Wanda, who's life is arguably in a worse situation than Miryem especially with her finding a financial outing of sort. So now we follow Wanda for a couple of financially depressing chapters as we jump back and forth between them. That's when the story begins to get a bit interesting because this is when the supernatural aspects start to arise through the Staryk King who pulls Miryem into a deal to flip his silver elf/fey coins into gold. The situation between them only gets more aggressive, which links in the third POV, Princess Irina. So now, at this point, we have our three main POVs, and we come to find out about the Tsar Mirantius who is wedded to Princess Irina and that he has basically a deal with a sort of demon kind. The story at this point is pretty decent shuffling between the three of them although with Miryem being associated with the Staryk King and Irina with Tsar, Wonda's POVs started to quickly become more uninteresting and even extremely boring in comparison, since for the most part it did not feel like a lot with her story or life changed that much and it remained a slow boring burn basically through the entire book.
POVs
At this point, more POVs started to arise, which is where another one of my issues came into play. POV's from Wonda's younger brother, Irina's old maid, and even a few from Tsar, and I may be missing another one. If I am, then that only goes to show how irrelevant they were. Regardless, my point is, to me at least, outside of the few POV chapters from Tsar. When we got these POVs, they did not enhance the experience of the overarching story. Getting a different point of view usually works when it helps the primary point of views you are following by getting an opposing side of the coin or to see portions of the story the main POVs aren't there for but are important or relevant to the overarching story. When it comes to Wonda's little brother it did not feel like any of these reasons for his POV chapters were needed and could have easily been cut entirely because they did not enhance my enjoyment in basically anyway or add to the story in my opinion, if anything his portions were easily the weakest and actively hurt my engagement and the story. I will not forget when there was actually an action scene going on in the story, something I was not expecting, and my engagement rose (yes I'm a meathead what ever action helps if done well). But since he was the POV we were witnessing this from he made it less enjoyable to experience and during some of the scenes literally narrated the fact that he did not want to witness portions of what was going on and actively didn't so we the readers did not get to see it either, when this occurred that bothered me the most.
Naomi Novik's Prose
I was told by a friend that the prose in this book is nothing like hers in Teremaire and that here it feels dull and depressing in comparison, which was probably on purpose and fitting since most of this story was just that. It also being in first person perspective meant a lot of the writing style was written in a way where it's dialogue of a character written out like they are telling you their perspective of what's going on. Since that's the case if a character is a young character (like Wonda's younger brother) then it has to be written in a way of a young child, and I'll commend her of getting that down accurately it did feel that way. But like I said before, since I wasn't a fan of that character, it didn't translate to enjoyment or engagement too much. The main POVs, which were all female characters, although different, felt more similar than they did different. All female POVs of characters struggling to make it with the life they were dealt and the bad male characters that were putting them through it all. So the dialogue for each of them and the writing style for it to me feel quite samey, not enough variety. In a nutshell, they are all victims of a man of some sort, and they all eventually found some sort of way to get away from, outwit, or even eventually fall in love with? Anyway, they go about it in ways that were different enough sure but not enough for me to see a drastic enough of a change in the writing style between each of the main POVs so I didn't really feel connected or engaged to any heavy degree to any of them overall. Although none of the main POVs were bad, they didn't feel like anything worth me praising either, nor the writing style that came with them.
Verdict
It seems that I am in the minority in feeling this way since most out there seem to hold this one in high regard. I unfortunately was disappointed overall by the story, the characters and even the setting which all felt like a slowburn that focused a lot of the depressing struggles of trying to survive, which I guess I want interested enough to care for such a story or journey, especially when the did feel like it led to anything satisfying by the end. The main POVs that kept growing felt like useless fluff and didn't add enough to warrant their existence and since the writing style has to match the characters we are following, I did not enjoy the prose that much either since it had to adhere to the characters' uninteresting characterization. I do not think the book is bad. It obviously was just not for me. Nonetheless and Overall,
It Was Okay
-â â âââ- (2.75/5.00)
My Grading Score = 55% (C-)
I've heard about the author Naomi Novik and was interested in her main series she's mostly known for called Temeraire. But I had a schedule of books that threw that series far off with a bunch of other Dragon Rider or Dragon related fantasy novels. Until then, I did hear about her other standalone books like Uprooted and this one right here, Spinning Silver. I am a follower of the popular Booktuber Petrik. He seems like a nice young man and held this one in high regard and Uprooted not so much. So on his recommendation I decided to give this one a go as my first Naomi Novik book and although I found a few things in here to be intriguing or enjoyable for the most part it was disappointing to me.
The start is setting up a quite depressing life of the main character, Miryem, who is struggling to find her way financially. When she finds her way a tad through regaining all the debt from people owe her family and hustling is where the story brings in the second POV character Wanda, who's life is arguably in a worse situation than Miryem especially with her finding a financial outing of sort. So now we follow Wanda for a couple of financially depressing chapters as we jump back and forth between them. That's when the story begins to get a bit interesting because this is when the supernatural aspects start to arise through the Staryk King who pulls Miryem into a deal to flip his silver elf/fey coins into gold. The situation between them only gets more aggressive, which links in the third POV, Princess Irina. So now, at this point, we have our three main POVs, and we come to find out about the Tsar Mirantius who is wedded to Princess Irina and that he has basically a deal with a sort of demon kind. The story at this point is pretty decent shuffling between the three of them although with Miryem being associated with the Staryk King and Irina with Tsar, Wonda's POVs started to quickly become more uninteresting and even extremely boring in comparison, since for the most part it did not feel like a lot with her story or life changed that much and it remained a slow boring burn basically through the entire book.
POVs
At this point, more POVs started to arise, which is where another one of my issues came into play. POV's from Wonda's younger brother, Irina's old maid, and even a few from Tsar, and I may be missing another one. If I am, then that only goes to show how irrelevant they were. Regardless, my point is, to me at least, outside of the few POV chapters from Tsar. When we got these POVs, they did not enhance the experience of the overarching story. Getting a different point of view usually works when it helps the primary point of views you are following by getting an opposing side of the coin or to see portions of the story the main POVs aren't there for but are important or relevant to the overarching story. When it comes to Wonda's little brother it did not feel like any of these reasons for his POV chapters were needed and could have easily been cut entirely because they did not enhance my enjoyment in basically anyway or add to the story in my opinion, if anything his portions were easily the weakest and actively hurt my engagement and the story. I will not forget when there was actually an action scene going on in the story, something I was not expecting, and my engagement rose (yes I'm a meathead what ever action helps if done well). But since he was the POV we were witnessing this from he made it less enjoyable to experience and during some of the scenes literally narrated the fact that he did not want to witness portions of what was going on and actively didn't so we the readers did not get to see it either, when this occurred that bothered me the most.
Naomi Novik's Prose
I was told by a friend that the prose in this book is nothing like hers in Teremaire and that here it feels dull and depressing in comparison, which was probably on purpose and fitting since most of this story was just that. It also being in first person perspective meant a lot of the writing style was written in a way where it's dialogue of a character written out like they are telling you their perspective of what's going on. Since that's the case if a character is a young character (like Wonda's younger brother) then it has to be written in a way of a young child, and I'll commend her of getting that down accurately it did feel that way. But like I said before, since I wasn't a fan of that character, it didn't translate to enjoyment or engagement too much. The main POVs, which were all female characters, although different, felt more similar than they did different. All female POVs of characters struggling to make it with the life they were dealt and the bad male characters that were putting them through it all. So the dialogue for each of them and the writing style for it to me feel quite samey, not enough variety. In a nutshell, they are all victims of a man of some sort, and they all eventually found some sort of way to get away from, outwit, or even eventually fall in love with? Anyway, they go about it in ways that were different enough sure but not enough for me to see a drastic enough of a change in the writing style between each of the main POVs so I didn't really feel connected or engaged to any heavy degree to any of them overall. Although none of the main POVs were bad, they didn't feel like anything worth me praising either, nor the writing style that came with them.
Verdict
It seems that I am in the minority in feeling this way since most out there seem to hold this one in high regard. I unfortunately was disappointed overall by the story, the characters and even the setting which all felt like a slowburn that focused a lot of the depressing struggles of trying to survive, which I guess I want interested enough to care for such a story or journey, especially when the did feel like it led to anything satisfying by the end. The main POVs that kept growing felt like useless fluff and didn't add enough to warrant their existence and since the writing style has to match the characters we are following, I did not enjoy the prose that much either since it had to adhere to the characters' uninteresting characterization. I do not think the book is bad. It obviously was just not for me. Nonetheless and Overall,
It Was Okay