Status Updates From King's Dragon (Crown of Sta...

This book is trying to slip out of my grasp, and I'm not going to let it--for reasons I may or may not get into later. As a friend reminded me, "even if you read only three pages of x book per day, you'll finish it eventually." Look forward to my review in September?

Alain's section here has been a trudge. Kings and generals stuff (zzz), another couple pages of noble/royal family trees (zzz). More long scenes with powerful people doing horrible things. I mean, I'm not expecting the fizzy levity of the Alexis Hall book I'm listening to from this (heh), but the level of misery porn in this book is a smidge too high for me.

After a very slightly rocky patch, I'm back into this one. I appreciate the acknowledgment that someone doesn't recover from trauma/abuse immediately after they've gotten away from their bad situation. The character also has flashbacks when [spoiler] is mentioned in benign conversation, which is also in keeping with what I understand about PTSD.

Starting part II after a month's break. An infodump full of territories, nobles, family trees... disorienting, boring, redolent of the rote history courses I took in jr. high. Even with a fantasy map at the front of the book, and some character interactions to lend some context, there's no chance I'm going to remember all this stuff.

I attempted this book twice before, and DNF'd it because I knew it was the right book for me, at the wrong time.

Now is most definitely the right time. It just builds and builds, the world, the religions, the characters, the history, becoming deeper and richer and more intriguing by the page. This is fantasy in the vein of Tad Williams, Robert Jordan and Robert Hobb, if you like them, try this.