Elizabeth Allen > Recent Status Updates

There's moments where this book feels introspective and on the verge of defining its own feminism, but then you turn the corner and it's still there spinning its wheels.

And most of the people in this book are terrible. Especially the protagonist, who happens to a stalker and a self-involved asshole.

The first two stories in this collection are already far better than The Triumph of Saint Katherine ever was. It's still only something you'd read if you're a fan of the setting & faction, but that's a given with 40K.

Unexpectedly binge read this. It's so heart-warming for a book dealing with such heavy topics, and despite knowing how the story plays out, the writing still manages to fully engross me.

I'm watching the movie now before I wrap up, and I'm positively surprised to catch myself thinking "I wish they had included [moment] from the book!". I think going forward, both book & movie create a complete experience for me.

I think the writing is definitely an improvement over the first, though that doesn't amount to much in a light novel. I enjoy it less though, because the author makes Kyon feel downright predatory for most of the story, and it's a stark contrast to the anime portrayal.

"I defend uselessness and the absurd."

"What once was moral is now, for us, aesthetic...what was social is now individual."

"We are merely ashes endowed with a soul, lacking any shape, not even that of water, which takes its shape from the glass containing it."

I struck with the profound sense that I'm reading a masterpiece. Pessoa is poetry and hypocrisy made one, and this glorious concoction touches me.

"And because this book is absurd, I love it; because it is useless I want to give it to you, and because there is no point in wanting to give it to you, I give it anyway..."

"I feel uncomfortable where I am, and uncomfortable where I think I should be."

I won't be continuing Malazan after this, and I probably shouldn't even be finishing this book but I am. The problem are numerous, and while I certainly agree this this is far better written than Gardens of the Moon, if this is one of the standout books of a 10 books series, then it's safe to say that this wasn't made for my standards.

A light but curious read. I think I'll rewatch the movie somewhere around the midpoint for comparison, and also to see if I still love that movie as much as I did all those years ago.

Here we return to the Mistborn universe. It will be interesting to see how Brandon Sanderson will keep the series interesting without the strong mystery and antagonist of the first book.

Continuing where we left off. Only a few chapters in and I simply adore it. If it maintains this level of quality all the way through, I might end up considering this my absolute favourite low fantasy book.

Magic in the world of Malazan only seems to exist so that Steven Erikson can continually 'surprise' the reader, and one-up whatever else came before. I get real tired of it, because there's zero attempt to build a hard magic system that can be understood and predicted, so it just ends up feeling like a deus ex machina machine.

In terms of writing, I feel like this is a huge improvement over the first book, though admittedly to the low standards of Japanese light novels. Unfortunately Kyon spends far much time crushing on Mikuru in ways that border on the predatory, and it drags the otherwise fun story down massively.

I don't really like the way Sophy Roberts describes the natives. It's always in very weird and unflattering terms.

I've heard unending praise for this, but so far I'm a little let down. It's never bad, but it's not particularly amazing either. Normally I have a mental image of characters and places when I read, and there is so little description in the book that I honestly can't tell you what the town or the cafe look like, beyond vaguely fantasy. It otherwise has nice moments, but I don't feel like it's all that noteworthy.

It has become a running theme for me that the payoff for Malazan's 'complexity' is never really as satisfying as fans want me to believe.

This is something special. It's too dense for me to binge read, but I still love it dearly. Beyond just being beautifully written, it strikes me how I've only come to read this because life blessed me with Portuguese friends, and through them, a trip to Lisbon.

"I am the ruins of buildings that were never more than ruins that someone, in the midst of building them, grew tired of even wanting to build."

200 pages and we've already had three sexual assault scenes. And it's not for the subject matter that I bring this up. It's that Steven Erikson has no ability or credentials to be writing about it. It's not nearly as tactful as both author and fans try to convince you it is, and honestly, I'm real tried of authors including it to be ~realistic~ but only ever writing about in contexts that are deeply gendered.

I don't like how the Adepta Sororitas are portrayed in this book like bickering school girls, rather than a tightly bound sisterhood of faith & purpose. In the book's defence, it is deliberately trying to showcase how they overcome their differences to unify around their shared belief in the emperor, but it comes at the cost of making the Adepta Sororitas seem weak and dysfunctional.

The chapter format doesn't help.

Vin caries this book on her back, which isn't to say there is nothing else to love - the magic system is great for one - but Vin's changing worldview and inner monologues give me life. Really curious to see where this ends up. It's like junk food a lot of the time, but sometimes junk food is just what you want.

Just as I was beginning to get bored with the repetition and lack of agency, the story gets exciting again! And Phèdre finds some independence! But now Phèdre has again had her agency ripped away, and the plot threatens to have her spend another few hundred pages not really going anywhere. I'm left with the feeling that this never needed to be 901 pages long. Especially for a conflict that's likely 3 books long.

Finished the prologue. So far, it's MUCH better written, which is likely a reflection of the fact that this was written 10 years after Gardens of the Moon. Still remain cautious but I'd like to believe this won't be the torturous experience it's predecessor ending up being.

Weird book. I find it slowly paced, and the prose is so matter-of-fact and lacking in colour. It's also very cliche so far and only really the main character has grabbed my interest so far.

AND YET.

I've read 200 pages fairly easily, and have no intention of stopping. If nothing else, it will be good to say I've experienced this mega popular series, and I do want to see where Vin ends up.

Almost there. It's a slog. Even if I end up liking Deadhouse Gates, I'd never willingly recommend this to anyone.

Decided to DNF. The time skip was poorly executed and introduced elements that only seem to exist in order to artificially create conflict. I found the first novel overly long and misevenly paced; and judging from the opening 100 pages, Howling Dark has only leaned into that, not learned from it. I think Christopher Ruocchio has strong writing qualities, but Sun Eater ain't it.

My first foray into modern black library fiction. Competent writing to criteria. Some repetitive descriptions and barebones prose. Enjoyable but not noteworthy.

At the instance of others, I have been convinced to keep reading until the end of Deadhouse Gates before dropping the series. I will push through.

More Russian history lesson than piano investigation and musical diary. I'm learning a lot about the past, but also having to learn when not to trust Sophy Roberts, as she has a habit of injecting myth into the book as if it's accepted fact.

Spoiled on a future event, which prompted me to question some of the darker elements of the series re; gender dynamics, and what I've since heard has confirmed I should steer well clear of the series. DNF.

I enjoyed up to the siege of Pale, but beyond that the book has become incredibly boring. I can't latch on to any of the characters because so often the dialogue is just bizarre philosophical meandering, or characters talking out loud about events under mountains of what can only be described as the fantasy equivalent of technobable.

Competent as both a political thriller and erotic fantasy, I'm enjoying the read well enough, but worry as to how this now familiar eb and flow can remain interesting for 900 pages - let alone sequels and spin-off series.