Greg S > Recent Status Updates

I keep answering Alice’s simple questions but she doesn’t seem to hear me, for some reason, no matter how loud I get.

Confusing sentences. Who is “anyone” that Alice is referring to and why are ballerinas and dancers not considered “anyone”?

I don’t know if I can stomach another month of reading another book with another abusive narcissistic antagonist.

I find the author is working in such broad shallow stereotypes. My paternal grandmother married for money in the 1950s and she was much more complex and interesting than Alice Ward.

That Peter III, in the 1950s, would know anything about dinner parties is funny to me. Also, an aristocratic man in 1950s caring about how many children his wife bears is also funny. Also, the inheritance rational doesn’t make sense. But conflict, am I right?

In typical fashion, ominous answer to an innocent question does not get a follow up.

Must not be alcohol. — “But she did enjoy the way it gave the room a warm, comforting shine.”

Confused about what decade this is. The chapter header listed three different years, 25 years apart. If this is the 50s then Alice’s partners are unorthodox, to say the least.

My guess was right. — “His height and his steady blue eyes…”

Hilarious. Indeed, our shit smells manly. — “In all of them she detects the scent of men: their deodorant, their aftershave; beneath these trappings their sweat and shit and semen.”

White America in the 70s is so weird.

We’re still doing this, eh? —“…things he likes about her is that she’s not like other girls…”

Funny. — “I would never do something so rude.” Instead, they had, and still have, uncomfortable sex in his car…”

Red flag. — “Louise tried to express her concern in a way that made sense to him, that didn’t provoke the annoyance he often displayed…”

Hilarious. — “He was different …He wore glasses, which Louise took as an outsized sign of responsibility and intelligence.”

oh, right. the author made an anthropomorphic rat.

I sure hope this short story has pages enough for this random dementia tangent.

sure, i’ll wait. —- “But whatever memory it stirred, the connection eluded me.”

two pirates sit and discuss geology. wild.

first paragraph and already I can smell an English major, rephrasing Beowulf and Havelok

monologue monologue

not sure this increase in stakes makes logical sense.

It’s tough when you can see that the MC’s wrong but the author has everyone in the story agree with them.

How are these high school kids into so many breakout artists? Will they also be attending concerts at CBGB? Waiting for Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 Rumours to also be mentioned. Maybe Van Halen will get a shoutout. I mean, Dark Side of the Moon was 1973, so…

Author lists as many 70s artists in a row as they can like this is Almost Famous

TJ or the author is confusing greek fawns for Celtic fairies.

Tracy is insufferable.

A fantasy author, whose name slips my mind, once noted that after Tolkien, authors chased after excess, convinced that more is best. This follows that idea and adds multitudes to what was already abundant. Already done by Gaiman in Sandman, and similarly done by RR Martin in the 80s, except those settings had enough scaffolding. Without connective tissue, this is just alphabet soup.

A bit rude. MCs just threw a pot of burning pitch onto a thatched roof just cause they had a hunch.

The problem with Media Res is the learning curve. This is approaching Malazan’s rate of terminology per page.