Brian > Recent Status Updates

A re-read, and I think I’m thinking even more highly of it than the first read. The “grass is greener” through line is really well done, and surprisingly apropos in a tale incorporating myth and a little bit of magic.

“southern Spain has the highest ratio of metaphor to reality of any place I’ve ever known.” I don’t believe I’ve ever thought of Zadie Smith and Hemingway at the same time… on reflection, if I had, it would have been to reflect, “This is exactly the opposite of how Hemingway would think and write about this topic”, but that’s a pretty Hemingway-esque turn of phrase and still classic Zadie Smith.

Damn. Lots to reflect on, with reasons to lament for our future, lament for our past, and hold out hope. Plus a fairly impressive creation in the author’s own version of metaphysics. Overall, impressive and excellent, though it’s still a bit overwhelming.

When I was reading about young Holly running away at the beginning of the book, I was not expecting a concise, bleak, and accurate view on the invasion of Iraq 1/3 of a book later, but here I am, equally engrossed.

Okay, that was a pretty major shift, so I’m curious where this is going. Also, I was giving Hugo the benefit of the doubt that he was just a really mediocre guy, but it turns out he’s a terrible, terrible guy.

Conceptually, it seems to owe a lot to “The Man in the High Castle,” but I loved “Sewer, Gas & Electric,” and I liked “Bad Monkey,” so I’m curious to see where he goes and how he gets there.

Holy cats. I quite enjoyed Scalzi’s “Red Shirts,” but, as good as it was, it did not prepare me for the level of storytelling, character work, and world-building in this (or, well, multiverse building, I guess). It’s pretty fantastic.

It’s quite good. Better than I expected, and really well-done, at times. There are times I’d like more exploration of why Geralt does some of the things he does (granted, Geralt himself often doesn’t know, but the author’s using third person omniscient, so he, at least, should know), but it’s a lot of excellent world building, character work, and storytelling.

As far as I can tell, Ta-Nehisi Coates’s entire oeuvre should be required reading.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.