Caitlin’s Comments (group member since May 12, 2014)

Caitlin’s comments from the Geekly Reader group.

LOVE the Dresden Files! Codex Alera was also mentioned, and that series was written by the same author and I'm told that it was the result of some sort of bet that he couldn't write something inspired by Pokemon and the French Foreign Legion. I was told this after I had already read the entire series and it kind of blew my mind, I didn't verify it because I like the series better thinking of it that way, though I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.
In terms of the more "urban fantasy" type series, my favorite right now is the October Daye series by Seanen McGuire (tied with the Dresden Files but that was already mentioned).
I highly recommend the Dwarves trilogy by Markus Heitz, at least the first two, I haven't quite gotten to the third yet. I'm not all that "into" dwarves but I picked it up on a whim and devoured the first one.

The Tower itself is puzzling, and one of the reasons I'm thinking about reading the rest of the trilogy is to see if they explain that on a non-symbolic level. The writing seems to be an invitation to assimilate, to let Area X in, especially given the fact that the Biologist got too close and inhaled spores and that's how she became "infected" with it. Maybe if we knew more about what the Tower is, it'll become more clear what it means. I definitely just talked myself into reading the rest of it!

I finished this book on Saturday, and as of today (Monday) I can't decide whether I liked it well enough to read the second one. I did like the way it ended, and for me the most interesting aspect of it was not the mystery of Area X and the Tower, but the background volunteered by the Biologist as it related to her experiences in Area X. I felt like she was realizing that she treated the expedition and the mystery of the place the way she should have treated her marriage, especially after reading her husband's journal. I thought the book overall was a sort of commentary on human interactions, and the fear of interdependence and truly knowing another person, having them truly know you. Her thoughts on the advancement of the border seemed to echo her entire attitude toward her marriage. That was my take on it anyway, that it was sort of a hidden love story, a woman who relates better to things that don't relate to her, trying to relate to other humans (or at least, one other human).
I hope a late post is okay.